The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canada Soccer are appealing FIFA’s six-point penalty to the national women’s soccer team in the wake of a spying scandal at the Paris Games.
FIFA docked the points on Saturday as part of a punishment that included a fine for Canada Soccer and the suspension of three coaching staff members for one year.
A team analyst was caught using a drone to spy on New Zealand’s practices before the start of competition.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s special Olympic court in Paris confirmed today that it had received the appeal, officially kicking off the process.
A hearing will likely be held Tuesday and a ruling is expected Wednesday, before Canada’s final group stage game against Colombia in Nice.
“The appeal is based on the disproportionality of the sanction, which we believe unfairly punishes the athletes for actions they had no part in and goes far beyond restoring fairness to the match against New Zealand,” the Canadian Olympic Committee said in a statement.
Canada opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over New Zealand before pulling out a stunning 2-1 victory over France after scoring late in injury time. The win over the host side ensured the defending champion Canadians still have a chance of reaching the knockout stage.
WATCH l Canadian women’s soccer team docked points, Priestman suspended by FIFA:
FIFA says it’s deducting six points from the Canadian women’s Olympic soccer team and banning three coaches for one year, including head coach Bev Priestman. The decision comes after some staff members on the team were accused of using a drone to spy on other teams at the Olympics and other events.