Michael Burgess tries to find the Canadian Olympic Committee to get answers about the Drone Gate situation. Video / Michael Burgess
By Michael Burgess in Paris
From a New Zealand point of view, there is one major lingering question out of the ‘Dronegate’ affair.
While Fifa has punished Canada – extremely heavily – there has yet to be any tangible recognition of the impact of the spying incidents on the Football Ferns at the Olympics.
Fifa have handed down one of the most severe penalties possible to the Canadian Soccer Association, following the saga that made headlines around the world. They announced on Saturday evening (Paris time) that the Canadian women’s team would be docked six points, making it all but impossible for the defending champions to qualify for the knockout stages.
The world governing body has also suspended head coach Bev Priestman along with the two other staff implicated, from involvement in football-related activity for one year, together with a fine of CH $200,000 ($383,000) for the association.
Canada head coach Beverley Priestman. Photo / Getty Images
It’s massive but reflects the severity of the incident in Fifa’s eyes, along with the residual damage done to the sport and its reputation. However, Fifa have opted not to award the Football Ferns any points. Under Fifa statutes, they had that option – if they had decided that Canada should forfeit the 2-1 win in the opening match.
Instead, the result stands though Canada will not glean any points from it. Why have they gone for that approach?
According to Fifa sources contacted by the Herald, the decision of the appeal committee was based on the interpretation that the two drone incidents last week did not have a material impact on that opening match.
While it was contrary conduct and merited such dramatic action, Fifa ultimately concluded that Canada did not gain a significant advantage from the spying and certainly not enough to affect how the opening match played out.
It’s understood that Fifa also considered that awarding points to New Zealand could also bring questions about the process, and possible protests from the other two teams in the group, France and Colombia, given the potential impact on their progress.
Ultimately, Fifa decided that while the offences should have implications for Canada’s ongoing participation in the event, reversing the result would not be appropriate.
It was possibly made more complex for Fifa by the nature of that match in St Etienne, as Canada was completely dominant – with the Ferns defending doggedly for most of the match, despite the narrow scoreline, so it was hard to argue that any information gleaned via the drone spying was decisive.
Canada players celebrate their Paris Olympics win over New Zealand. Photo / Photosport
Saturday’s big announcement capped a remarkable six days since the first drone incident was uncovered by French police last Monday.
But it may not be the end of the matter.
The Canadian Olympic committee is considering an appeal to the highest tribunal in world sport, the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
CAS has a full suite of arbitrators in Paris, principally to be on hand to deal with doping cases and other infringements during the Olympics, but also available for other hearings. However, time will be of the essence.
Canada played their second group match beating France 2-1, after the Football Ferns lost 2-0 to Colombia earlier in the day. So they now sit above New Zealand in the standings despite being on zero points.
The final round of pool matches is on 31 July (Paris time).
Any further judgements or appeals – if they come – will have to be concluded before the women’s quarter-finals, which are due to be played on August 3 (Paris time).
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics’, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.
