Spiraling drone-spying scandal at Olympics risks damage to Canadian soccer ahead of 2026 World Cup

AP Sports Writer

PARIS (AP) — Canada has lost its appeal against the deduction of six competition points following a drone-spying scandal in the Olympic women’s soccer tournament. The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday said its panel of three judges dismissed Canada’s appeal and confirmed the six-point deduction imposed last weekend by FIFA. Two assistant coaches used drones to spy on New Zealand’s practices last week before their opening game. The urgent verdict was delivered less than eight hours before defending Olympic champion Canada was scheduled to play Colombia at Nice in the last round of games in Group A. Canada can still advance to the quarterfinals with a win.