Getting caught with “you can fuck off” on a hit mic doesn’t help either. Last thing anyone wants is for Canada to gain a reputation of cheating, especially after the drone scandal with the Canadian womens soccer team at the Paris Olympics in '24.

Ahead of the tournament, on 22 July, New Zealand players noticed a drone flying over their training session and reported this to local police.[2] Drone operating laws in France ban drones from being flown above people and ban recordings made by drones to be shared without the subjects’ consent. French police were already wary of drones in terms of security around the 2024 Summer Olympics.[1][3] Saint-Étienne police followed the drone and found and detained its operator, a member of the staff of the Canadian team. The New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) then reported the incident to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) integrity unit, before making a public announcement the next day together with New Zealand Football, expressing their disappointment towards the Canadian team. The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) then apologized to the NZOC and said they would review next steps with Canada Soccer and all the relevant governing bodies.[2][4]

The drone operator, analyst Joseph Lombardi, admitted after his arrest that he had also filmed another New Zealand training session on 19 July,[5] a fact later made public by the COC.[1][3] Though Lombardi immediately said that the spying was “a personal initiative”, the police found a text message exchange on his phone with assistant coach Jasmine Mander that indicated Mander knew of the spying.[6]

If you’re resorting to espionage please just accept that you suck and don’t do things that drag your nations reputation in the process.