Olympic Football Team Hit with Huge Point Deduction as Coach Banned by FIFA
The 2024 Paris Olympic football event has been rocked by a major controversy, with the Canadian women’s team facing a huge point deduction and their coach banned for a year.
The drama unfolded earlier in the week when a member of the Canadian support staff was arrested by French police after being accused of spying by New Zealand. The Kiwis claim a drone was used to infiltrate a training session at the Canadian base in St Etienne ahead of their match against Canada at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
In a statement, New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) and New Zealand Football expressed their shock and disappointment at the incident, which occurred just three days before the two teams were set to face each other.
"We are deeply concerned about the integrity and fairness of the Olympic Games, and we will do everything in our power to support our athletes and team," they said.
On Saturday evening, FIFA announced that Canada had been hit with a six-point deduction and their manager, Bev Priestman, had been banned for one year. The governing body cited "failure to respect applicable regulations" and "offensive behaviour and violation of fair play principles" in its decision.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the football world, with many questioning the motivations behind the drone’s presence. Was it a genuine mistake, or was there something more sinister at play?
FIFA’s decision has been met with widespread criticism, with many calling for stricter penalties for teams found guilty of similar incidents. The governing body’s appeal committee has given Canada’s officials 10 days to request a motivated decision, which would be published on its website if requested.
The decision remains subject to a potential appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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