We explain the espionage affair that is creating controversy around the Canadians, the next opponents of the Blues.

The coach of the Olympic champions, Bev Priestman, was suspended by her federation on Friday, two days before challenging France.

It is in turmoil that the Canadian women’s team prepares for its second match of the Olympic football tournament against France. Coach Bev Priestman was suspended from her position for the duration of the Olympic Games on the night of Thursday, July 25 to Friday, July 26 following an espionage case, as announced by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) in a press release. The coach had already withdrawn for the first match of the reigning Olympic champions, won against New Zealand on Thursday (2-1).

The reason? Since Wednesday, the Canadian women have been going through a crisis. Video analyst Joseph Lombardi, a member of the staff but not accredited, was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended, for having flown a drone over a New Zealand training session before the match. He had been arrested on Monday by the police, who had been informed of the aircraft’s passage by an Olympic site supervisor. The images used made it possible to establish that the same operation had already been carried out on Saturday, as revealed by the Saint-Etienne prosecutor’s office.

Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander, the assistant to whom the video analyst was supposed to report, have been sent home, an initial COC statement said Wednesday. Following the incident, FIFA’s disciplinary committee has opened proceedings against the Canadian team and the coach. “Over the past 24 hours, additional information has been brought to our attentionthe COC explained in a statement released last night. In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer [la Fédération canadienne de football] has taken the decision to suspend Bev Priestman for the remainder of the Olympic Games and until the end of the independent external investigation.”

“We are not cheatersdeclared defender Vanessa Gilles in Saint-Etienne after the victory against the Ferns. There was a lot of emotion, frustration and humiliation because it does not reflect our values ​​and what we want to represent. The Games are the representation of fair play.”added in the mixed zone the Canuck of OL.

While the Canadian press claims that their national teams have been using this type of espionage method contrary to Olympic ethics for years, doubt now hangs over the gold medal won in 2021 by the women’s team. “There seems to be information that could tarnish this performance in Tokyo and it makes me sick”acknowledged David Shoemaker, COC president, at a press conference on Friday.

While waiting to find out whether the Canadians are targeted by a possible sanction, which could go as far as their exclusion from the tournament, it is assistant Andy Spence who is expected to lead the team on Sunday against Les Bleues, who were tough winners over Colombia in the opening match (3-2).