New Zealand's Olympic Committee (NZOC) reported that their women's soccer team experienced a disruption during a training session due to a drone operated by a staff member from the Canadian team, whom they are set to play against in Group A on Thursday. The NZOC promptly reported the incident to the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) integrity unit.
The NZOC said that a drone was flown over the training session on July 22 and the incident was immediately reported to the police. This was followed by the detention of a support member of the Canada team, who was the operator of the drone.
"On July 22, a drone was flown over the New Zealand women's football team training session in St Etienne," the NZOC said on Tuesday. "Team support members immediately reported the incident to police, leading to the drone operator, who has been identified as a support staff member of the wider Canadian Women's football team, to be detained."
Following this, Team Canada issued an apology and launched an investigation into the matter.
The Canadian Olympic Committee acknowledged the incident, specifying that it involved "a non-accredited member of the Canada Soccer support team." They stated that they are currently "reviewing next steps with the IOC, Paris 2024, Canada Soccer, and FIFA.
In a statement they released, the Canadian Olympic Committee said they stand for fair-play and are shocked and disappointed with what has happened.
"The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair-play and we are shocked and disappointed. We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee," they said in a statement.
Canada and New Zealand will lock horns during the Olympics on July 25 in their opening match. Both teams are in Group A, which also has France and Colombia.
