Appeal Lost, Canadian Soccer Team Fights to Focus on Paris Olympics

A sports arbitration court on Wednesday dismissed Canada's appeal of a six-point penalty levied against its Olympic women's soccer team.

This decision followed a report by the FIFA Appeals Committee suggesting drone spying might have been "systemically embedded" in the team's culture.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) stated that its three arbitrators unanimously rejected the appeal by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canada Soccer to overturn the penalty related to a scandal involving the team's coaching staff.

The ruling was announced just hours before Canada was scheduled to play Colombia at the Paris Olympics.

CAS indicated that the detailed grounds for their decision would be published later.

"While disappointed in the outcome of our appeal, we commend the players for their incredible resilience and grit over the course of this tournament, and look forward to cheering them on in today's match against Colombia," the COC and Canada Soccer said in a joint statement.

FIFA docked six points from the women's team after a Canadian staff member was caught using a drone to spy on New Zealand's team practices ahead of the Paris Games.

The COC and Canada Soccer argued the points deduction was disproportionate and unfairly penalized the players, who had no involvement in the incident.

In addition to the point deduction, Canada Soccer was fined over $300,000, and three team members, including head coach Bev Priestman, were suspended for one year.

Despite the controversy, the defending Olympic champions secured a 1-0 victory over Colombia on Wednesday night, advancing to the knockout stage of the tournament.

A document on FIFA's website detailed the investigation, including an admission from Canada Soccer that the spying might have extended beyond the Paris Olympics.

The document, dated July 28, included an email from March between Priestman and a performance analyst in which the analyst expressed objections to spying on other teams.

"As discussed yesterday, in terms of the 'spying' conversation, I came off the meeting with clarity that you understood my reasons for me being unwilling to do this moving forward," read the March 20 email.

The analyst cited moral objections, concerns about reputation, and an inability to perform their duties on game day as reasons.

In another email the same day, Priestman sought advice on handling the situation, suggesting that scouting was widespread.

"Seeking your advice and input here regarding this formal email on spying," Priestman wrote.

"It's something the analyst has always done and I know there is a whole operation on the men's side with regards to it."

She added, "as for scouting it can be the difference between winning and losing and all top 10 teams do it."

Canada Soccer stated that "spying" and "scouting" referred to "flying drones for scouting purposes," acknowledging that the practice might be embedded in the team's culture.

The organization suggested the practice began under former head coach John Herdman and continued under Priestman.

While the FIFA report redacted names, an unredacted version identified Herdman as the originator of the drone use.

Canada Soccer declined to comment on the unredacted report.

"The independent investigation is currently underway and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further. When we have more to share, we will communicate it publicly," said Paulo Senra, Canada Soccer communications officer, in an emailed statement.

Canada Soccer announced an external review of the Paris incident and pledged to address historical matters later.

"Canada Soccer will continue to communicate regularly about this issue and take swift, decisive steps to restore public trust," wrote President Peter Augruso and CEO Kevin Blue.

Priestman and others accepted the sanctions.

In his statement to the FIFA disciplinary committee, staffer Lombardi claimed responsibility for the drone decision, stating he "wanted to impress the Canadian Women's technical staff" and no one else was involved.

Despite the distractions, Canada aims for its fourth consecutive Olympic medal after winning bronze in 2012 and 2016 and gold in Tokyo three years ago.

The team opened the tournament with three straight wins, including the victory over Colombia, and will face Germany in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Marseille.

"We can't control it, we can only control getting the win," said Canadian defender Ashley Lawrence. "That is our motivating factor. We want to go into the game 100 percent to blow it out of the water and win."