MEXICO CITY (apro).- Although the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games took place this Friday, July 26, some sports disciplines began their participation earlier, including women's football. However, the first controversy in this sport has already occurred.

The Canadian national team faced New Zealand on Thursday, July 25, a duel that took place at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Étienne. The match ended 2-1 in favor of the Canadians. Unfortunately, before the start of the match, it was learned that assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi had used a drone to spy on the New Zealand training before their practice.

As a result, Mander and Lombardi returned to Canada, at the request of the Canadian Soccer Federation. Additionally, Beverly Priestman, the Canadian team's technical director, said she was unaware of her teammates' actions but decided not to be on the bench for the match.

Following New Zealand's spying allegations, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) conducted an investigation that found that not only Mander and Lombardi were responsible, but also Priestman. In light of this, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) permanently removed the coach from her position.

As part of the sanctions, the IOC has deducted six points from Canada, meaning the win over New Zealand does not count. It will play two more matches, against France and Colombia, but its path to the next round and defending the gold medal won at Tokyo 2020 looks complicated.

FIFA also joined the sanctions against Canada. The world's top soccer body fined the Canadian Soccer Federation $226,000 and suspended Priestman, Lombardi and Mander from all official competition for one year.