Scandal at Olympic football
Canadian drone spy sentenced in France
25.07.2024, 13:37
The training of New Zealand’s women’s soccer team before their Olympic debut is spied on by drone – by a team member of opponents Canada. The video analyst is arrested, brought to court and given a suspended prison sentence before kick-off.
The drone scandal in Paris continues to shake Canadian football: video analyst Joey Lombardi has now been sentenced to eight months in prison by a court in Saint-Etienne. The sentence was suspended; Lombardi pleaded guilty in court, according to information from the AFP news agency. The 43-year-old, like the women’s assistant coach Jasmine Mander, to whom Lombardi reported, must leave the Olympic Games.
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) also announced that it had now received information about a second incident surrounding the opening match against New Zealand. (5 p.m. in the live ticker at ntv.de) The COC will “continue to review this matter and take further action if necessary,” it said in a statement without providing further details.
Lombardi had spied on New Zealand’s training with a drone, the association complained, and the analyst was arrested in Saint-Etienne. Head coach Bev Priestman announced that she would not be on the sidelines against New Zealand because of the incident. “On behalf of our entire team, I would first like to apologize to the players and staff of the New Zealand Football Association and the players of Team Canada. This does not represent the values that our team stands for,” Priestman said of the incident. “I am ultimately responsible for the behavior on our team.”
The New Zealand Football Association also announced that it had referred the matter to the disciplinary committee of the world governing body FIFA. “The news that the Canadian team secretly recorded our team training on at least two occasions is extremely concerning and, if not acted upon immediately, could have far-reaching consequences for the integrity of the tournament,” said Andrew Pragnell, CEO of New Zealand Football.