The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has made a decision regarding Canada's appeal of a six-point deduction to both its Olympic squads. This deduction was imposed due to an incident where a staff member flew a drone to film the closed-door training of the New Zealand women's soccer team.
The individual responsible for flying the drone, Joseph Lombardi, identified as an 'unaccredited analyst with Canada Soccer' by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), received an eight-month suspended prison sentence. Lombardi was sent home from the Olympics, along with assistant coach Jasmine Mander, to whom he shared his report.
FIFA took action by suspending Lombardi, Mander, and women's soccer team head coach Bev Priestman for a year from participating in any football-related activities.
Both the Canadian men's and women's teams were penalized with a six-point deduction at the Paris Games. Initially, Canada Soccer expressed its intention to appeal this sanction. However, CAS has now dismissed the appeal, upholding the six-point deduction for both teams.
Despite the deduction, the Canadian women's team has managed to secure victories in both of its tournament games. As a result, the team currently holds zero points in Group A.
