I don’t watch the Olympics any more

By William Corden

Here’s the latest , from pure Maple Syrup Canada no less.

CBC

FIFA strips Canada of 6 points in Olympic soccer, bans coach Bev Priestman for 1 year in drone spying scandal

FIFA came down hard on Canada Soccer on Saturday for a drone spying scandal, deducting six points from the Canadian women’s soccer team at the Paris Games and banning three staff members, including head coach Bev Priestman, for one year each.

The punishments include a fine of $313,000 for the national federation in a case that has spiralled over the last week. Two staff members were caught using drones to spy on New Zealand’s practices before the teams played their opening game last Thursday, a 2-1 Canada win.

Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) chief David Shoemaker issued a statement suggesting the point deduction would be appealed.

Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue issued his own statement in support of the players, confirming an intention to appeal.

Canada Soccer was held responsible for not ensuring its staff complied with tournament rules. Priestman, who led Canada to the Olympic title in Tokyo in 2021, already was suspended by the national federation then removed from the Olympic tournament.

Team analyst Joseph Lombardi and assistant coach Jasmine Mander were also suspended from taking part in any soccer-related activity for one year.

The points deduction, if upheld by CAS judges, does not eliminate Canada from the tournament.

It could mean the team must win all three games in Group A and hope to advance with three points, likely as runner-up in the standings.

Truth is you’d be hard pressed to find one single team in the entire quadrennial farce that doesn’t have some sort of sanctioned cheating going on. Whether it be spying or drugs or equipment doping it’s all in the DNA of professional sports.