(Paris) Funding for Canada Soccer officials suspended for the duration of their FIFA sanction has been cut off, the office of Canadian Sports Minister Carla Qualtrough announced Sunday morning.
Read Alexandre Pratt’s column: “Severely punished for their coaches’ choices”
The sport’s governing body had announced the day before that Canada Soccer would be fined C$313,000 and that three coaches, including head coach Bev Priestman, would each be banned for one year.
PHOTO ASANKA BRENDON RATNAYAKE, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Coach Bev Priestman
“Using a drone to monitor another team during a closed-door training session is cheating. It is completely unfair to Canadian athletes and those on opposing teams. This action undermines the integrity of sport,” read the statement from Minister Qualtrough.
“We are seeing concerning behaviour within Canada Soccer. We must get to the bottom of this matter, and we will. The Government of Canada will closely monitor the ongoing investigation at Canada Soccer and its results. The Commission on the Future of Sport in Canada is continuing its work and will provide us with recommendations on improvements to the Canadian sport system,” it added.
The Canadian Olympic Committee announced Saturday that it is “exploring its rights to appeal” following FIFA’s decision to strip the Canadian women’s soccer team of six ranking points in connection with the Paris Olympics spying scandal.
Two assistant coaches were caught using drones to spy on New Zealand’s training sessions before the two teams played their first match last Thursday, which ended in a 2-1 victory for Canada.
Canada Soccer was held responsible for failing to ensure its staff complied with tournament rules.
Priestman, who led Canada to Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021, had already been suspended by the national federation and removed from the Olympic tournament.