‘We’re not cheats’, insist Canada after Olympic football spying scandal
SAINT-ÉTIENNE, France (AFP)— Canada defender Vanessa Gilles insisted her team were “not cheats” despite a spying scandal before their 2-1 opening win over New Zealand in the Olympic women’s football competition on Thursday.
Assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi were sent home from the Games in Paris on Wednesday.
Lombardi was also given a suspended eight-month prison sentence for flying a drone over a New Zealand training session in Saint-Etienne in the build-up to the match.
FIFA has since opened disciplinary proceedings against Canada.
“Honestly, it wasn’t easy,” Gilles told reporters.
“There was a lot of emotion, frustration and humiliation because as a player, it doesn’t reflect our values and what we want to represent as competitors at the Olympics.
“The Games represent fair play. As Canadians, these are not our values or those of our country. We are not cheats. It was very hard but we knew how to be united.”
Canada are defending their Olympic title in Paris after defeating Sweden to win gold in Tokyo three years ago.
“It’s up to us to stay together and try not to let social media and the press break into our bubble,” added on-loan Lyon defender Gilles. “We’ve been able to do that in the past.”
Head coach Bev Priestman also took no part in the game after the controversy, but is expected to be back on the bench for Canada’s second Group A match against France on Sunday.
“She took a step back from this match and left the bench to her assistants but for the next matches, she should take her place again,” said Gilles.
Goals from Arsenal forward Cloe Lacasse and Evelyne Viens helped Canada come from behind to win.
New Zealand coach Michael Mayne refused to blame the spying incident on his side’s loss.
“I don’t want to make excuses for this result,” he said.
“But, yes, we are disappointed. There is the question of how this happened and the reasons that led to this situation.
“Yes, maybe it influenced part of the game. We wanted to play and we did our best.”
New Zealand next face Colombia on Sunday, needing to avoid defeat to give their quarter-final hopes a boost.
