Canada's Olympic Soccer Scandal
The sky is no longer the limit for the Canadian women’s Olympic soccer team. On 22 July, 2024, the New Zealand women’s soccer team filed a complaint with French police that they saw a drone flying overhead during one of their practices. The police traced that drone back to Canada Soccer analyst Joseph Lombardi, who had been using the drone to spy on the New Zealand women’s team during a practice ahead of their match against one another. Canada went on to win that game with a final score of 2-1.
In response to the scandal, the Canadian Olympic Committee reported that it sent Lombardi and the assistant coach he worked for, Jasmine Mander, back home. Head coach Beverly Priestman issued a statement that she denounced their actions and did not “direct” them to spy but was “voluntarily” stepping down from coaching the game against New Zealand. This scandal has not only affected the integrity of the coaching staff, but also undermines the character of the Canadian women’s soccer team as an institution, thereby eroding the trust of soccer fans worldwide.
Canada Soccer’s Chief Executive, David Blue, says this was not an isolated incident and that Priestman likely knew of the drone spying. As a result, on 27 July, FIFA banned Priestman, Lombardi, and Mander from working in soccer for one year, issued a fine of 200,000 Swiss francs, and penalized the Canadian team with six points at the Olympics. This spying culture is not unique to the women’s team, however. The men’s team has attempted to view closed practices before, including during the Copa America this year. Following the steep penalties they faced, Canada women’s soccer appealed the decision but was denied. According to FIFA appeals judge Neil Eggleston, the Canadian women’s soccer team has always spied and “it was the difference between winning and losing”. This systemic usage of spying within the Canadian teams has broader implications that affect not just soccer, but all professional sports.
Scandals like this highlight the importance of enforcement and transparency regarding corruption and cheating within professional sports. Canadian NDP Member of Parliament Niki Ashton has called for Priestman to testify to Canada’s House of Commons heritage committee because of the systemic nature of the repeated drone usage to spy on other teams.
Strong compliance programs can not only improve the reputation of sports organizations such as Canada Soccer, but also can prevent corruption from taking root in the first place and revitalize the trust of fans and sponsors when things go wrong. Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) implemented strict compliance standards to keep sports corruption-free. In fact, in 2017, the IOC launched the International Partnership against Corruption in Sport (IPACS) at the IOC’s International Forum for Sports Integrity (IFSI).
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (“UNODC”) has published reports addressing the role of corruption in sports, and how to minimize the risk of improper behavior. Since 2017, the UNODC Programme on Safeguarding Sport from Corruption and Economic Crime has been working to support governments, sports organizations, and relevant stakeholders to address and mitigate corruption and economic crime in sport. The Programme recommends certain activities to address the risk of corruption, such as
- Strengthening legal, policy, and institutional frameworks to counter corruption and crime in sport
- Increasing cooperation among and between governments and sports organizations at national and international level
- Enhancing understanding and capacities to tackle corruption and crime in sport through research and analysis
With discussions of sporting events making global headlines, the fight against corruption in sports is a topic that shouldn’t be ignored. There will always be bad actors who attempt to manipulate the game for their personal gain, but with robust policies and procedures, as well as clear expectations of accountability and proper conduct, future athletes needn’t have their lifelong dreams marred by the corrupt activities of those undermining the integrity of the sport and community. Learning from past infractions and incorporating the recommendations from anti-corruption agencies and organizations can help hold professional sports teams accountable not just to each other but fans across the globe.
J.D. Candidate, The George Washington University Law School, Class of 2026