On July 25, Beijing time, the countdown to the opening of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games has begun. Fair play is a principle that all athletes and teams should abide by in the Olympic Games. However, a recent "espionage" scandal has shattered this principle and has attracted widespread attention in the international sports community.
According to media reports, Jo·ey Lombardi, a technical analyst for the Canada women's football team, and Jasmine Mander, an assistant coach, Jasmine · Mander, were both expelled from the Olympics for spying on New Zealand women's training with drones before the game. The incident occurred on July 23 when Lombardi was caught and arrested while secretly filming a training session with a New Zealand team.
After an investigation, Lombardi confessed to his actions and was sentenced to eight months of probation in the local court in Saint-Etienne. Canada was the champion of the last Olympic Games, while New Zealand is one of the main contenders for the title. It stands to reason that as a strong team, it should not be despised for doing this kind of indiscriminate deed. However, this kind of scandal did happen, adding a gossip to the already chaotic Paris Olympics.
The occurrence of this incident undoubtedly cast a shadow on the Olympic journey of the Canada women's football team. However, the head coach ·of the Canada women's football team, Bev Priestman, said that she did not know about it in advance and therefore escaped punishment. But on behalf of the entire team, she apologized to the players and staff of New Zealand and the players of Canada, stressing that the incident did not represent the values of the whole team.
The Canada Olympic Committee said it was in constant communication with the IOC and FIFA and showed transparency and cooperation throughout the process. They pledged to continue to review the incident and take further steps if necessary. We don't know if this was done by those two men, but it was a disgrace to the Olympic level playing field and to Canada's sporting community.
Andrew Pragnell, ·the leader of the New Zealand soccer team, said in a statement that the behavior was unbelievable and hoped that it would not happen again. He stressed that in football, this kind of behavior should not occur at all.
The occurrence of this "espionage" scandal is a wake-up call for all teams involved in the Olympic Games. Sports competition should be a fair and just contest, and any violation of sportsmanship and rules should be condemned and stopped. Before the official start of the Olympic Games, various problems of the Paris Olympics were constantly exposed, from the lack of air conditioning, to cardboard beds, to the withdrawal of a large number of athletes, and the Australia athletes who lost their bicycles and smashed cars that happened a few days ago. It seems that the organization of this Olympic Games is indeed not very good.