Paris 2024 Olympics, Football: Eight-month suspended sentence for Canadian who spied on New Zealand
It won't be long. The Canadian women's soccer team member who used a drone to spy on a New Zealand team training session on Monday was sentenced to eight months in prison on Wednesday and FIFA has opened an investigation into the incident, the Saint-Etienne prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.
The 43-year-old Canadian national, “was tried on Wednesday afternoon as part of a hearing on prior guilty plea (CRPC), before being convicted” according to the Saint-Etienne prosecutor's office. At the same time, FIFA's disciplinary committee has opened proceedings against the Canadian national team and the coach in particular. The file will be submitted for examination by the disciplinary committee in the coming days in detail to FIFA.
Following the incident on Monday, Canada coach Bev Priestman announced her withdrawal from the match against New Zealand, which will be held at the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in Saint-Etienne.
He actually photographed the New Zealanders on Saturday.
“I am ultimately responsible for running our program. Therefore, to demonstrate our team’s commitment to integrity, I have voluntarily decided to step down from coaching Thursday’s game. In a spirit of responsibility, I do so with the interests of both teams in mind and ensuring that everyone feels respected and respected in the spirit of sportsmanship in this game,” she said in a statement.
The 40-year-old was arrested on Monday by police after being tipped off by the supervisor of the Olympic training sites in Saint-Etienne, after he filmed a training session in this New Zealand city using a drone, the future opponent of the Canadians this Thursday at 5 p.m. in Geoffroy-Guichard.
The New Zealand team manager had stopped training after seeing a drone flying, and the incident was immediately reported to police, according to the New Zealand Olympic Committee. The use of images showed that he had indeed filmed the players the previous Saturday, in the same circumstances, at the Stade Méchon in Saint-Étienne, the Saint-Étienne prosecutor's office said, adding that the suspect had confessed in police custody “that the videos would have allowed him to learn the tactics of the opposing team.”
Non-Certified Member of the Canadian Team
The ruling was accompanied by the confiscation of all the seals seized in his hotel room, namely the drone and electronic video analysis devices, according to the prosecution.
The person who piloted the drone was not a member of the Canadian team, according to a press release from the Canadian committee, which is in contact with the International Olympic Committee and FIFA to determine what action to take. The committee said he has been removed from the Olympic team and will be sent home immediately, adding that Canada Soccer staff will undergo mandatory ethics training.
Another “drone incident” occurred last Friday during training, according to the press release, which noted that a second member of the Olympic team was removed and sent home. After their match against New Zealand on Thursday, the Canadians will face France in their second match on Sunday.