PARIS — A Canadian soccer player was caught flying a drone during training in New Zealand earlier this week as the two teams prepared to meet on the opening day of the women’s soccer competition here at the 2024 Olympics.
The Canadian Olympic Committee acknowledged in a statement Wednesday that a “non-accredited member of the Canadian Football support team was detained by French authorities” following the incident.
The COC said the employee was “believed to have used a drone to record the New Zealand women’s football team during training”.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee said in an earlier statement that when they noticed the drone, “support team members immediately reported the incident to police.”
French authorities are on high alert this week ahead of Friday’s Opening Ceremony, an outdoor extravaganza on the River Seine. Amid security concerns, they have been strictly enforcing a ban on drones in and around Games venues across France. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on Tuesday that authorities were intercepting an average of six drones a day.
“There are systems that allow us to very quickly intercept [drones] and arrest its operators,” Attal said. “We cannot allow anything to go unnoticed by us.”
They shot down drones flown by tourists, likely unaware of the restrictions, Attal said.
What they probably didn’t foresee was the need to police the reigning Olympic women’s soccer champions ahead of a clash with an underdog.
Canada won gold in Tokyo. The title defense opens on Thursday in Saint-Étienne, several hours south of Paris, against New Zealand, the lowest-ranked team in a four-team group that also features France and Colombia.
Both Canada and New Zealand trained in the region prior to the opening. After reporting the drone to police, the NZOC also said it filed a formal complaint with the International Olympic Committee and “asked Canada for a full review.”
The IOC has not yet commented and did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. It is unclear whether Canada could be punished.
The Canadian Olympic Committee said it was “shocked and disappointed” after learning of the incident.
“We offer our sincere apologies to New Zealand football, all affected players and the New Zealand Olympic Committee,” the COC said in its statement. “We are analyzing the next steps with the IOC, Paris 2024, Canada Soccer and FIFA [soccer’s global governing body]. We will provide an update later [Wednesday].”
