The Canadian women’s soccer team is appealing a six-point deduction for cheating. They face sharp criticism for sending a drone over New Zealand’s training sessions before the Paris games.
FIFA suspended Head Coach Bev Priestman and two assistants for a year for complicity in the violations. FIFA also fined Canada $226,000 for the incident.
Canada secured a 2-1 victory over the Football Ferns in the first group match at the Olympics. But their second victory over France is stirring up all the emotion for the maligned side.
28-year-old Vanessa Gilles declared the team’s innocence after scoring her team’s game-winning goal in an emotional interview.
“We have nothing to lose, we haven’t slept in the last three days,” the defender told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation after the match.
“We haven’t eaten, we’ve been crying. I wouldn’t say their ideal performing situations, but we’ve held each other through it and we’ve had absolutely nothing to lose.
“What’s given us energy is each other, is our determination, our pride to prove people wrong, our pride to represent this country when all this s*** is coming out about our values and our representation as Canadians.”
The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canada Soccer are pleading with FIFA to drop the 6-point deduction. The 2-0 Les Rouges sit third in Group A with 0 points.
Can Canada still advance out of the group?
Despite Canada’s handicap, they can move on to the quarter-final stage.
However, the reigning world champions will have to make it three consecutive wins with a victory over Colombia on Wednesday. They’ll advance as the best third-place teams.
Former assistant coach Andy Spence takes over the side for his third game in charge.
Photo: ig/canwnt
