Canada stripped of points at Olympics amid calls to take gold medal off Matildas' rivals

Canada's women's football team have been deducted six points at the Paris Olympics and three officials have been banned for a year over the cheating scandal that has erupted at the Games. Angry football fans are calling for Canada to be stripped of the gold medal they won in women's football at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, amid new claims of 'systemic' cheating 'for a number of years'.

Canada were plunged into scandal this week when they were caught using a drone to spy on the New Zealand women's team ahead of their clash on Friday. Head coach Bev Priestman has been dramatically kicked out of the Paris Games as a result, and assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi have also been sent home.

World soccer's governing body announced on Saturday it had deducted six points from Canada in the women's tournament in Paris, while Priestman, Mander and Lombardi are now banned from all soccer for one year. FIFA fast-tracked its own disciplinary process by asking its appeals judges to handle the case, finding Priestman and her two assistants "were each found responsible for offensive behaviour and violation of the principles of fair play". The Canadian soccer federation has also copped a AU$345,000 fine after being found responsible for not ensuring its staff complied with tournament rules.

Canadian Soccer investigating claims of systemic cheating

The sanctions come after the head of Canada Soccer said he is investigating a potential “systemic ethical shortcoming.” Kevin Blue, the CEO and general secretary of Canada Soccer, moved to emphasise on Friday that none of the players were involved in the cheating scandal, but the organisation has admitted the practice of spying with drones has likely gone on for years.

“At the moment we are trying to directly address what appears to look like it could be a systemic ethical shortcoming, in a way that's frankly, unfortunately painful right now, but is turning out to be a necessary part of the rehabilitation process,” Blue said. He added that Priestman's future with defending Olympic champions is: “Pending the outcome of our review of this matter entirely. Upon gathering more information from that review, that will be an additional opportunity to see what steps additionally need to be taken, if any."

The head of Canada's Olympic committee said Priestman is "highly likely" to have been aware of the spying practice. Priestman has denied all allegations.

Canadian media outlets are reporting that both of the country's senior teams - men's and women's - have being using drones for years for various means. Officials have pushed back against that allegation, but there has also been an acknowledgement this was not the first drone deployed for spying purposes.

Could Canada be stripped of gold medal from 2021 Olympics?

Canada are the reigning Olympic champions and one of the Matildas' main rivals in Paris. The Australian team have played Canada three times over the last few months (for three losses), including right before the Olympics in a warm-up match.

Officials have said it's unlikely Canada will have their gold medal taken away, but acknowledged the triumph will be 'tarnished'. Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive David Shoemaker said there "appears to be information that could tarnish" the triumph from the Tokyo Games, adding: "It makes me ill, it makes me sick to my stomach to think that there could be something that calls it into question."

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Blue said he'd received "anecdotal feedback" related to drone use during the men's team's run to the semi-finals of the recent Copa America tournament, but said coach Jesse Marsch had only been made aware of it after the event. "I am aware of an instance of attempted drone usage at the Copa America," Blue said. "I have spoken with our current head coach about the incident after it occurred and I know he denounced it as a practice to his staff."

Former Canada manager John Herdman said he is "highly confident" there wasn't any cheating going on during his time at the helm. Herdman was in charge of the Canada men's team at the 2022 World Cup and the women's side at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

"I've always gone into Olympic Games, World Cups, big events, with integrity in mind and the ability to compete at the highest level, following the rules and processes," he said. "So from my side, I'll help Canada Soccer where I can with that review."

with agencies