Paris 2024 Olympics: A timeline of France’s Canadian soccer spygate scandal

We hadn’t even reached the opening ceremony when the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris were rocked by a espionage scandal.

A Canadian soccer executive was caught flying a drone over a New Zealand team training in France earlier this week ahead of their group stage match on Thursday. The executive in question was arrested and eventually sent home from the Games after French police searched his hotel room and recovered the drone footage.

This has of course led to several investigations.

While many questions remain unanswered, here’s everything we know so far about the Canadian soccer spying scandal in Paris.

July 20: New Zealand train at the Michon Stadium in Saint-Etienne

New Zealand opened training in France on Saturday in preparation for the Olympic Games.

The local prosecutor said a supervisor at the Olympic training site had informed police that a drone was hovering over the Auguste Dury Stadium on Monday. New Zealand’s team manager had informed the supervisor of the drone and immediately halted the training session.

Police later arrested Joseph Lombardi, 43, an “unaccredited analyst” with the Canadian women’s soccer team who was operating the drone and filming the private training session. Lombardi’s hotel room was searched and the drone was seized. He admitted that the videos of two private training sessions (including one on July 20) “enabled him to learn the other team’s tactics.”

Lombardi was charged with flying an unmanned aircraft over a prohibited area and accepted an eight-month suspended sentence. Assistant coach Jasmine Mander was interviewed and not charged.

The COC released a statement saying it had been notified that an unaccredited member of the Canadian soccer supporters team had been detained by French authorities after New Zealand filed a complaint.

The complaint alleges that a Canada Soccer employee allegedly used a drone to record the New Zealand women’s national team training on July 22.

The COC offered its “sincere apologies” to the New Zealand players and said it would discuss next steps with the IOC, Paris 2024, Canada Soccer and FIFA.

July 24: Canada coach Bev Priestman withdraws from opening match

After the COC investigated the drone incident, they discovered a second incident involving a drone and the training session in New Zealand on July 19.

Upon learning these new details, two staff members – Lombardi and Mander – were removed from the Canadian Olympic team and immediately sent home.

Canada women’s national team coach Bev Priestman told the COC that she will not play in the team’s opening match of the Olympic Games against New Zealand on July 25.

Canada Soccer staff were also required to undergo ethics training.

July 25: Canada-New Zealand match

With Priestman back at the team’s hotel and assistant coach Andy Spence taking over as coach, Canada beat New Zealand 2-1 on Thursday in their first group stage match of the Olympics.

Cloé Lacasse scored first for the Canadians in extra time just before halftime, tying the game after Mackenzie Barry scored for New Zealand in the opening minutes. Interestingly, Barry’s goal came from a set piece. Canada’s Evelyne Viens then scored in the 79th minute to put Canada up by a goal and ultimately give them the win.

The win gave Canada three points in Group A, putting them in an early tie with France. France defeated Colombia 3-2 in their opening group stage match on Thursday.

On Sunday, Canada and France will face each other.

July 25: Canada suspends and sends home coach Bev Priestman

Shortly after their victory over New Zealand, Canada Soccer announced that it had suspended Preistman for the remainder of the Games. Priestman was subsequently sent home from the Olympics and Spence was named interim coach of the team.

The announcement came after a report from TSN alleged that the spying had been going on for years within both the men’s and women’s national teams, with the women’s team even reportedly using drones to spy on opponents during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics — where they won the gold medal — and the following year as they attempted to qualify for the Women’s World Cup.

July 26: Canada Soccer CEO has not considered withdrawing team from Olympics

Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue gave a press conference Friday and said no players were involved in the drone spying scandal. He hopes FIFA will take the association’s handling of the situation into account if more punishments are imposed.

On the subject of past spying on the men’s and women’s teams, Blue said he learned this week that there was “an attempted drone use” by a member of the men’s coaching staff during the Copa América. Blue said Canadian men’s head coach Jesse Marsch found out “after the fact” and “condemned it as a practice to his staff.”

“They gave me reasons to think further about the possibility that this behavior was systemic,” Blue said.

Blue added that he believes Canada Soccer’s response to the scandal was appropriate and that he therefore did not consider withdrawing the team from the Olympics.

Former Canadian WNT captain Christine Sinclair, who retired from international competition in October, said in a statement on Instagram that in her 23 years with the team, drone footage was never shown to her or the team.

“It is unfortunate that our national team players have had to endure reprehensible actions from some of their staff members while trying to defend our gold medal, actions that are beyond the players’ control,” Sinclair wrote.

Sinclair collected 331 caps during her time with Canada and played in four Olympic Games. Sinclair concluded her statement by saying she planned to support the players throughout the tournament and asked Canadians to do the same.

July 27: FIFA suspends coach Bev Priestman for one year, Team Canada loses 6 points

FIFA has toughened penalties for the Canadian women’s soccer team over its use of drones to record opponents’ training sessions.

The organization was awarded six points by the team in the women’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics, which is equivalent to two wins. Coach Bev Priestman was also suspended from the world competition for a year, the Associated Press reports.

Canada’s next game is against host France on Sunday at 3 p.m. (Eastern Time).

July 27: US Soccer has known for years

Canadian espionage practices have apparently been known in the football world for some time.

According to a report from ESPN’s Sam Borden, U.S. Soccer has been aware of and the victim of several espionage incidents in recent years. They caught a Canada Soccer employee spying on them during a 2021 training session, and Canada reportedly attempted to use drones to spy on teams ahead of the Copa América earlier this summer.

Yet US Soccer never reported the move, partly due to concerns it would impact their relationship ahead of their joint bid for the 2026 World Cup, among other issues.

July 29: Canada Soccer and the Canadian Olympic Committee appeal points deduction

Hoping to overturn their six-point deduction, Canada Soccer and the Canadian Olympic Committee filed a joint appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

This will be an expedited process with a hearing likely Tuesday and a decision expected Wednesday. The appeal focuses solely on the point deductions and not the suspensions for head coach Bev Priestman, assistant Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi.

“The appeal is based on the disproportionality of the sanction. We believe it unfairly punishes the athletes for actions they had no part in and goes far beyond restoring fairness to the match against New Zealand,” Canada Soccer said in a statement.

Canada can still advance to the knockout stage of the tournament despite having a six-point deduction and being on zero points. A win over Colombia in their final match on Wednesday could secure a spot in the next round if they are one of the top two third-place teams in the three groups.

July 31: CAS rejects Canada Soccer’s appeal

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed a joint appeal by the COC and Canada Soccer against FIFA’s decision to strip the women’s Olympic team of six points after the team was caught using a drone to spy on training in Paris.

Canada won their first two group games and are on zero points after the points deduction. They play Colombia on Wednesday and a win could secure a place in the next round if they are one of the top two third-place teams in the three groups.