2024 Olympics: The reason behind Canadian women's coach Priestman's one-year FIFA ban

The coach of Canada's women's national football team, Bev Priestman, has been suspended by FIFA for one year for using a drone to spy on an opponent's training session.

FIFA's investigation disclosed that Priestman's team used a drone to observe New Zealand's training sessions before their match.

This action violated article 13 of FIFA's code of conduct and article 6.1 of the Olympic football tournament regulations, according to media outlet The Athletic.

The team suffered a six-point deduction as part of the punishment.

In an internal email dated March 20, 2024, Priestman admitted to using drone surveillance at the Paris Olympics and claimed that all top 10 teams employ similar tactics.

She argued that such scouting methods can be crucial for winning.

However, when The Athletic reached out to the highest-ranked federations at the Paris Olympics, including Spain, France, Germany, the US, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Colombia, New Zealand, Nigeria, and Zambia, several denied using drones for spying and refuted Priestman's claims.

The French, German, and Zambian women's football teams specifically denied engaging in such practices.

Read the post below:

The French, German and Zambian national women’s football teams have denied using drones to spy on opposition training sessions.

In an internal email, Canada head coach Bev Priestman, who has been suspended by FIFA for a year after admitting to using drone surveillance at the… pic.twitter.com/sgFvssroII

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) August 1, 2024