The Canadian women’s soccer team’s Olympic story took another dramatic twist on Monday.
Canada Soccer and the Canadian Olympic Committee announced they will appeal FIFA’s sanctions to the Canadian women’s soccer team in the midst of a drone spying scandal.
On Saturday, FIFA deducted six points from Canada in the Olympic tournament and banned three coaches for one year each after a staffer was caught using a drone to spy on New Zealand team practices before the start of competition.
Notably, the COC and Canada Soccer are only appealing the six-point penalty, not the one-year suspensions.
Canada will challenge the sanctions at the Court of Arbitration’s special Olympic court in Paris. The appeal will likely be heard on Tuesday and a decision will be issued on Wednesday.
“The appeal is based on the disproportionality of the sanction, which we believe unfairly punishes the athletes for actions they had no part in and goes far beyond restoring fairness to the match against New Zealand,” the COC said in a statement.
Canadian head coach Bev Preisman was one of the coaches suspended and took accountability for her actions in her first public comments on the scandal Sunday in a statement issued by her lawyers.
“I am absolutely heartbroken for the players, and I would like to apologize from the bottom of my heart for the impact this situation has had on all of them,” Priestman said.
Canada beat New Zealand in its opener 2-1 on Thursday but then the sanctions were applied by FIFA just two days later, putting the Canadians at minus-3 points in the group stage standings despite the win in their opener.
However, even amidst the chaos, Canada still managed to pull off a stunning last-second win over France on Sunday to bring its point total in the group stage back to zero.
As it currently stands the maximum point total for Canada in the group stage would be three points, provided the reigning champions beat Colombia on Wednesday in Nice.
If the Canadians manage to pull off the victory over the Colombians, they will have a very good chance at advancing to the knockout stage and will keep their hopes of defending their Olympic gold medal alive.
– with files from CP
Canada’s national women’s soccer team is set to appeal a controversial decision that saw them deducted six points in Olympic qualifying competition. The penalty was imposed after it was discovered that the team had fielded an ineligible player during a match against Costa Rica.
The player in question, Jessie Fleming, had received two yellow cards in previous matches, which should have resulted in an automatic suspension for the next game. However, due to a clerical error, the suspension was not enforced and Fleming was allowed to play against Costa Rica.
The Canadian team has argued that the error was not their fault and that they should not be penalized for a mistake made by tournament officials. They believe that the six-point deduction is overly harsh and could potentially cost them a spot in the upcoming Olympics.
The appeal will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), an independent body that resolves disputes related to sports. Canada’s coach, John Herdman, has expressed confidence that the team will be able to overturn the penalty and secure their place in the Olympics.
The controversy has sparked debate among soccer fans and officials, with some arguing that the punishment is too severe while others believe that rules must be enforced consistently to maintain the integrity of the sport.
Regardless of the outcome of the appeal, this incident serves as a reminder of the importance of attention to detail in sports administration and the potential consequences of even minor errors. Canada’s national team will be hoping for a favorable ruling from CAS as they continue their quest for Olympic qualification.