Canada badly wants to defend its Olympic gold medal in women’s soccer, and is apparently willing to get into some murky territory to do so.
On Tuesday, the New Zealand Olympic committee publicly accused Canada of flying a drone over a training session in France, saying it was “deeply shocked and disappointed” by the incident. Canada and New Zealand will face off on Thursday in Saint-Étienne, one of two opening games in the women’s soccer competition.
“On July 22, a drone was flown over the New Zealand women’s football team training session,” read New Zealand’s statement on the matter.
“Team support members immediately reported the incident to police, leading to the drone operator, who has been identified as a support staff member of the wider Canadian Women’s football team, to be detained.
“The NZOC has formally lodged the incident with the IOC integrity unit and has asked Canada for a full review. Team Canada has issued an apology and is investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Canada apologizes over drone accusation
Later on Tuesday, the Canadian Olympic Committee offered up a statement of its own, admitting that “a non-accredited member of the Canada Soccer support team was detained by French authorities in Saint-Étienne following a complaint by New Zealand Football on July 22nd.
“The staff member is believed to have been using a drone to record the New Zealand women’s football team during practice.
“The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair play and we are shocked and disappointed. We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee.”
The nature of the incident has no real Olympic parallels, and any future punishment is unclear. FIFA and the International Olympic Committee both have some degree of control over the situation, while French police — having detained the staffer involved — may also play a major factor in the process.
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