Marseille. The Canadian women's team has appealed the six-point penalty it received at the Olympics following the drone spy scandal, and is awaiting a verdict hours before its team plays its final group stage match next Wednesday.

FIFA sanctioned Olympic champions Canada on Saturday – and suspended coach Bev Priestman and two of his assistants for a year – over accusations they used a drone to spy on rival New Zealand's training sessions.

The long-awaited appeal by the Canadian Football Federation and the Canadian Olympic Committee was officially registered Monday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, in a case that will be processed under an expedited procedure.

CAS said it plans to hold an appeal hearing on Tuesday and that its three-judge panel will deliver its verdict at noon on Wednesday. Sanctions against the coaches are not part of the case.

“The appeal is based on the disproportionate nature of the sanction,” the Canadian Soccer Federation said in a statement, “which we believe unfairly punishes players for actions in which they had no part and goes well beyond restoring fairness to the match against New Zealand.”

Canada will face Colombia in Nice on Wednesday and need to know where they stand before the game begins.

A day earlier, Priestman apologized to his players and promised to cooperate with the investigation into the drone scandal.

Meanwhile, Canada kept their chances of advancing alive despite the penalty after beating France 2-1 on Sunday. But the defending champions remain without a point and must beat Colombia in their final Group A match to advance.