PARIS: FIFA deducted six points from Canada in the Paris Olympics women’s soccer tournament and banned three coaches for one year each on Saturday in a drone spying scandal.
The stunning swath of punishments include a 200,000 Swiss francs ($226,000) fine for the Canadian soccer federation in a case that has spiraled at the Summer Games. Two assistant coaches were caught using drones to spy on opponent New Zealand’s practices before their opening game last Wednesday.
Head coach Bev Priestman, who led Canada to the Olympic title in Tokyo in 2021, already was suspended by the national soccer federation then removed from the Olympic tournament.
Priestman and her two assistants implicated in the case, Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander, are now banned from all soccer for one year.
FIFA fast-tracked its own disciplinary process by asking its appeals judges to handle the case.
FIFA judges found Priestman and her two assistants “were each found responsible for offensive behavior and violation of the principles of fair play.”
The Canadian federation was held responsible for not ensuring its staff complied with tournament rules.
The coaches and the Canadian federation now can challenge their sanctions at the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s special Olympic court in Paris. That tribunal is set up for urgent hearings and verdicts at the Olympics.
The 38-year-old Priestman is from England and was hired in 2020 to coach the Canada team. She is under contract through the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
She had stepped aside from the defending champion’s Olympic opener against New Zealand on Wednesday after the scandal was revealed. Canadian officials suspect the spying has been systemic over years.
Her two staffers were sent home for allegedly using a drone to spy on New Zealand in training. Canada won the game 2-1 with interim coach Andy Spence in charge.
The points deduction, if upheld by the CAS judges, does not eliminate Canada from the tournament. It could mean the team must win all three games in Group A and hope to advance with three points, likely as runner-up in the standings.
Canada plays group leader France on Sunday in Saint-Etienne, then faces Colombia on Thursday in Nice.
FIFA strips Canada of 6 points in Olympic women’s soccer, bans coaches 1 year
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FIFA strips Canada of 6 points in Olympic women’s soccer, bans coaches 1 year
- FIFA fast-tracked its own disciplinary process by asking its appeals judges to handle the case
- FIFA judges found Priestman and her two assistants “were each found responsible for offensive behavior and violation of the principles of fair play”
Africa Cup of Nations moved to every four years
- The tournament, which brings in an estimated 80 percent of CAF’s revenue, has traditionally been held every two years since its inception in 1957
RABAT: The Africa Cup of Nations will in future be held every four years instead of every two years, the Confederation of African Football said on Saturday.
The surprise decision was made at the body’s executive committee meeting in the Moroccan capital and announced at a press conference by CAF President Patrice Motsepe.
The tournament, which brings in an estimated 80 percent of CAF’s revenue, has traditionally been held every two years since its inception in 1957.
Sunday marks the start of the 35th edition, hosted in Morocco with the home team taking on Comoros.
Motsepe said the next Cup of Nations finals, scheduled for 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, will go ahead and then another tournament would be held in 2028 but after that it will be hosted every four years.
Motsepe announced the launch of an African Nations League annually from 2029 to fill the gap, following the example of Europe which holds its championship every four years.
“Historically the Nations Cup was the prime resource for us but now we will get financial resources every year,” he said.
“It is an exciting new structure which will contribute to sustainable financial independence and ensure more synchronization with the FIFA calendar.”
Holding the Cup of Nations every four years had been previously proposed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino but this had been rebuffed by CAF because of their reliance on the revenues that the tournament generates.
The timing of AFCON has long courted controversy because it has usually been hosted in the middle of the European season, forcing clubs to release their African players.
This tug of loyalty was supposed to be solved by moving the Cup of Nations to mid-year from 2019 but later tournaments in Cameroon in 2022 and Ivory Coast in 2024 were again hosted at the start of the year.
This year’s tournament in Morocco was moved back six months when FIFA introduced a new-look Club World Cup, which was hosted in the US in June and July.
