New Zealand says it has complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after a drone flown over a New Zealand women’s football team training session was found to be operated by a member of the Canadian team’s support staff.
Defending Olympic champion Canada and New Zealand meet in their opening match at the Olympic tournament on Thursday. The drone incident occurred earlier this week, the New Zealand Olympic Committee said Wednesday.
“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,” the NZOC said in a statement.
“The NZOC has formally lodged the incident with the IOC integrity unit and has asked Canada for a full review.”
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The Canadian Olympic Committee has apologized to the NZOC and New Zealand Football.
“The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair play and we are shocked and disappointed,” the statement said. “We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee.”
The NZOC said it and New Zealand Football “are committed to upholding the integrity and fairness of the Olympic Games — at this time the NZOC’s main priority is to support the New Zealand women’s football athletes and wider team as they start their campaign.”
It’s not the first time a Canadian football team has been involved in a drone controversy involving an international rival’s training session.
In 2021 at Toronto, Honduras stopped a training session ahead of its men’s World Cup qualifier against Canada after spotting a drone above the field, according to reports in Honduran media. The teams played to a 1-1 draw.
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