The Canadian Women's Soccer Team Thread

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Who said they were equivalent? That’s not remotely what I said.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by browna

Fifa:
6 point deduction
Preistmen and assistants banned for a year.
$225k fine for the CSA.

Sounds like FIFA BS to me.

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

Overreaction? The entire Canadian delegation should have been sent home! This is an extremely soft penalty. The Olympic gold medals from 2021 should be stripped from the women’s team as well.

These athletes make a pledge not to cheat at the penalty of a lifetime ban. It is extremely apparent from the reporting that the players knew full well that illegal - not just unethical - drone footage was being used for a competitive advantage. One or more of them should have spoken up.

Hard to look up to or cheer for a nation of cheaters.

Unless my sarcasm detector is broken...was this post meant as an over-reaction?

We're talkin' 'bout Practice here. I dont know what mental Genius decided it was worth using a drone to film another team's practice...but its just practice.

Most of it is fitness and drills. There is no cloak and dagger secrecy being unveiled or anything, no one is 'getting behind the curtain.'

Its. Practice.

Like I said in the other thread, this is like watching someone at the Gym.

I mean...imagine if this was Flames Practice...people go to those all the time, they broadcast them in the media!

Where is the tragedy here? I must be missing some details.

And finally...watching your opponents practice? I dont see how thats cheating. You should just get tape of your opponent's last competive match which would be more useful and televised so its easy to get, but really?

Recording a practice? To me, unless I'm missing something, that is much ado about nothing. Much less 'cheating.'

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

I honestly cannot think of a better reason to strip anyone of a gold medal.

1 - Kidnapping the child of an opposing team’s player, telling them you will murder them if they win

2 - Pulling socks above the knee

3 - Drone footage

4 - Infiltrating the opposing team’s catering service and lacing the pre-game meal with strychnine and fentanyl

5 - everything else equally a reason the strip a gold medal.

These only apply to the gold and bronze medals obviously, if you kill a child or poison a team then you get to keep that silver medal.

[Bagor]

Big deal about nothing.

It's soccer. Where the modern game is based on encouraging on field cheating and embellishment. Cheating is a consistent part of the game that never gets punished. Ever.

And corrupt FIFA stepping in to a non issue to present some sort of moral high ground over a drone yet two weeks back absolute silence over players fighting in the stand.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Bagor

Big deal about nothing.

It's soccer. Where the modern game is based on encouraging on field cheating and embellishment. Cheating is a consistent part of the game that never gets punished. Ever.

And corrupt FIFA stepping in to a non issue to present some sort of moral high ground over a drone yet two weeks back absolute silence over players fighting in the stand.

Oh my Holy Lord....Bagor and I agree on something...

Someone check the Large Hadron Collider and make sure nobody has divided by Zero!

[MegaErtz]

"Multiple U.S. Soccer sources told ESPN that they believe any investigation will find that John Herdman, who coached Canada's women's team from 2011 to 2018 and its men's team from 2018 to 2023, was a common denominator."

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/...ying-incidents

[MegaErtz]

This isn't just about observing another team's training sessions. It involves illegally gaining insight into formations, injury statuses, and team selections. Both teams have to submit their team sheet an hour before kick-off for a reason; neither team has an advantage and can adjust their own team selection based on prior knowledge of their opponent's starting lineup.

[GirlySports]

It's Canadian journalists ####ting on Canadians.

You don't see Argentinian journalists ####ting on Enzo Fernandes and piling on as Argentinian teams are being booed in Paris.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

This isn't just about observing another team's training sessions. It involves illegally gaining insight into formations, injury statuses, and team selections. Both teams have to submit their team sheet an hour before kick-off for a reason; neither team has an advantage and can adjust their own team selection based on prior knowledge of their opponent's starting lineup.

Well, I’ll give you points for continually trying to make this into an issue. The reality is the rest of the world couldn’t possibly care less. This is a case of Canada taking aim at themselves and self-loathing. It’s akin to Ben Johnson being stripped of the gold despite everyone else in the 1988 100m final also being doped.

I did get a laugh at the line about formations though. If you’re a fan of the game (and I guess I assume you are despite the barrage of terrible takes here that must go back years by now), you might recognize that these formations are used over and over by teams and managers. The reality is that the advantage gained here is negligible, if at all. It’s definitely not worth 6 points and year ban for the coaches. I think it’s particularly harsh for the athletes who seem to be entirely uninvolved.

[MegaErtz]

There's a huge advantage gained knowing your opponent's starting lineup before you name your own. Anyone who watches football even at a casual level knows that.

I don't think the rest of the world couldn't care less - this is the headline story so far of the Olympics all throughout the world. Extremely damaging to Canada's reputation on the world stage.

[MegaErtz]

Sport Canada is withholding funding related to women's soccer coach Bev Priestman and two other suspended team officials, calling the drone scandal that has rocked the Paris Olympics an embarrassment to all Canadians.


https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/...g-drone-spying

[browna]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

Sport Canada is withholding funding related to women's soccer coach Bev Priestman and two other suspended team officials, calling the drone scandal that has rocked the Paris Olympics an embarrassment to all Canadians.


https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/...g-drone-spying

Not a surprise and pretty token gesture by the Feds. My guess is the amount that Sport Canada allocates to the coach, an assistant, and their contractor is a few thousand dollars per year.

Good that the funding withholding doesn't affect the overall program, the CSA I'm sure won't pay any of these 3 and more money either... the Fifa fine from this is a bigger shor term concern for the CSA, as every $ counts for the CSA.

[MegaErtz]

Hard for the team to be up for this given the circumstances, but man oh man, are they totally outclassed today. Canada can't put two passes together.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by shermanator

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

I think the punishment is fair. Incredibly unfair to the players, but there has to be a deterrent for this sort of thing. 6 points means that the women aren't guaranteed eliminated, they can still make it to the knockout round if they win all 3 matches. They won't, but it's possible.

Priestman and her staff will lose their jobs over this and her coaching career at this level is all but done.

All to get a win over New Zealand....

Yeah, the punishment seems about right IMO.
Not the biggest cheating in the world of soccer, but can't expect to just brush it under the rug because there's worse out there.

Just a dumb thing to do for minimal advantage; way to throw away your careers coaches.

[OldSam]

What a screaming, diving embarrassment the French women are. I have watched 20 minutes and it appears several of them have severed limbs or, even worse, death. Every single soccer game, men and women.. I feel bad for fans.

[MegaErtz]

Canada have played magnificently in the second half, but just don't have anyone who can finish.

[The Big Chill]

That was a huge chance, but the finish wasn’t even close.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Canada leads

[The Big Chill]

Goal!!

[mile]

Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssss