2024-07-24 11:12:33
Police arrested a member of the Canadian women’s soccer team for flying a drone over a training session in New Zealand’s Saint-Étienne, Canada’s future opponent Thursday in Geoffroy-Guichard.
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At the end of two days in police custody, “this 43-year-old Canadian national will be brought before the prosecution on Wednesday evening” for “flying a drone in a prohibited area,” the public prosecutor told AFP de Saint- Étienne, David Charmatz.
The man must be tried as part of a pre-trial admission procedure (CRPC), a source close to the investigation told AFP.
The person who piloted this drone is an unaccredited member of the Canadian team, according to the press release from the Canadian committee, which is in contact with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIFA to determine the measures to be taken.
“We offer our sincerest apologies to New Zealand, all the players involved and the New Zealand Olympic Committee,” the Canadian Olympic Committee said in a statement on Wednesday, following Tuesday’s overview.
The Canadians, the reigning Olympic champions, face New Zealand on Thursday in their first group game, before meeting the French team on Sunday.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee said team members reported the incident to police and the drone operator was arrested.
“Team members immediately reported the incident to the police, which led to the arrest of the drone operator, who was identified as a member of the support staff of the Canadian women’s soccer team,” the NZOC said, calling on Canada “a full review of the case.”
“The NZOC and New Zealand Football are committed to the integrity and fairness of the Olympic Games and are deeply shocked and disappointed by this incident, which occurred three days before the two teams played each other.” , the press release continued.
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