FIFA announced on Saturday that the team had been fined six points and coach Beverly Priestman was suspended for a year.

The sanction affects the Canadian football federation, which has been declared ‘responsible for not respecting the applicable FIFA regulations’, which expressly mention the prohibition of the use of drones over training venues, and includes a fine of 200,000 Swiss francs (226,000 dollars).

The main consequence is that the Canadians drop three points in Group A ahead of a meeting with hosts France in Saint-Etienne on Sunday. Despite beating New Zealand 2-1 in their opening match on Thursday, the withdrawal of those points means they now have to win their next two matches to have any chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

It was New Zealand on the receiving end of the drone visit, which had already left a trail of consequences for the coaching staff: on the judicial side, an eight-month jail sentence for analyst Joey Lombardi, and on the Canadian Olympic Committee's side, the expulsion of assistant Jasime Mander and the withdrawal of coach Priestman (now suspended) from the match against the spying victim team.

Lombardi himself, from the coaching staff, admitted that he had used the drone to capture the instructions of the opposing coach. The sentence does not include imprisonment.

The Saint Etienne prosecutor in charge of the case, David Charmatz, confirmed that examination of the drone showed that, in addition to filming the New Zealand team on Monday, it had also filmed two days earlier at another stadium in the area. The sentence also includes confiscation of the drone.

Coach Bev Priestman was the same coach who led the team to the gold medal at Tokyo 2020 and denies directing the actions of the others involved, although she accepts responsibility as a leader.

Assistant coach Andy Spence will take over as head coach for the remainder of the competition and will be on the bench for Canada's next game against France on Sunday, and the team, whose players claim to be unaware of the stunt, will receive sports ethics training.

Carla Qualtrough, Canada's Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, also commented on the uncomfortable episode. ‘Fair play is the highest principle in sport. I fully support the sanctions and Coach Priestman's decision to step aside from the first game. 

These decisions are crucial to maintaining the integrity of the game and respecting the Olympic spirit,’ Qualtrough wrote on social media.