The Canadian government will be withholding financial support for the women’s football officials who faced bans from Fifa due to the drone surveillance incident during the Paris Olympics.
The reigning women’s Olympic champions have received a six-point deduction, while head coach Bev Priestman has been handed a one-year suspension by Fifa.
Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander, officials from the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), have also been barred from all football-related activities for one year.
Carla Qualtrough, the sports minister of Canada, stated that deploying a drone to spy on New Zealand’s training session was an act of “cheating”.
She lamented the situation as “deeply regrettable,” noting that it has created “significant distraction and embarrassment for Team Canada and all Canadians”.
Qualtrough emphasized that “it is entirely unjust to Canadian players and their opponents. It compromises the integrity of the sport itself.”
“As the women’s program receives financial support from Sport Canada, we are suspending funding related to the officials from Canada Soccer who are currently under Fifa sanctions,” she stated.
Sport Canada is the government-led national organization that provides financial assistance to elite-level national teams.
