Canadian sports fans in Paris used words like “embarrassing” and “disappointing” to describe the drone spy scandal that rocked Canadian football ahead of the Olympics.
Jennifer McComb visited Canada House on Sunday wearing a red maple leaf T-shirt. McComb, from Montreal, said the actions of the team management and coaching staff overshadowed the first few days of the Games. “The main initial feeling for me was just embarrassment,” he said Sunday outside Canada House in Paris. “It doesn’t reflect who we are as a country and I think it’s very unfortunate.”
However, she and her friend Tara Mitrovka disagreed with the soccer body’s decision to strip points from the Olympic gold medal-winning women’s team, saying it unfairly punished the athletes for what they saw as coaching and management decisions. “I don’t think athletes should be punished if they probably didn’t know,” Mitrovka said.
McComb agreed, saying sanctions should target those involved, not the players. However, both women, who were in Paris to support a friend’s daughter on a water polo team, said the scandal would not dampen their enthusiasm for the Canadian athlete.
FIFA, soccer’s governing body, stripped the team of six points, fined Canada Soccer about C$313,000 and banned head coach Bev Priestman and two members of her staff for one year each.
The sanction was imposed after two assistant coaches were caught using drones to spy on New Zealand’s training session before the two teams played their opening matches last Thursday.
The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canada Soccer have said they plan to appeal the point deduction. Chris Young of St. John’s, N.L., said outside Canada House that he believes the drone spying scandal “goes against everything we stand for” as Canadians, adding: “It’s a big joke, it makes us look stupid.” Young, who comes here mainly to watch the swimming, said that won’t stop him from cheering on Canada’s athletes, especially Summer McIntosh, who won the country’s first medal with a silver in the women’s 400 freestyle on Saturday.
News of the drone announcement has dominated headlines in the first few days of the Paris Games, overshadowing the announcement of Canada’s opening ceremony flag bearer and the Games’ opening news conference. Canadian swimmer Mary-Sophie Harvey, who just won her heat to advance to the semifinals of the women’s 200-metre freestyle, said Sunday she stays in her “circle” and doesn’t really follow news outside of her sport. But he added that healthy competition is important for everyone. “It’s a sad thing, but all we can do is move forward and hope things get better in this situation,” he said.
Outside Canada House, Calgary’s Kerri Berner said she was “heartbroken” for the football players who will lose points and risk having their Olympic dreams dashed.
“Honestly, it doesn’t reflect well on Canada, particularly our sports organizations, and it’s sad,” he said.
Still, she showed up in a red dress and makeup, ready to cheer on Canadian athletes, especially the tennis players. “I’m very proud of all the athletes here and what they’ve accomplished, and I think we should be able to cheer them on for that,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2024.
“Social media fanatic. Problem solver. Bacon ninja. Communicator. Alcohol evangelist.”
