Canada appealing 6-point deduction on Olympic women’s soccer team after drone scandal

Canada is appealing the six-point deduction levied by FIFA against the Olympic women’s soccer team that stemmed from a staffer flying a drone over New Zealand’s training sessions before the start of the Paris Games.

The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canada Soccer filed the appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday, arguing it “unfairly punishes the athletes for actions they had no part in and goes far beyond restoring fairness to the match against New Zealand.” A hearing will likely take place Tuesday, with the final decision expected midday Wednesday, CAS said in a news release. Canada plays Colombia on Wednesday at 9 p.m. in Nice (3 p.m. ET) in its final group stage game.

Canada defeated New Zealand and France in its first two games, but currently sits third in Group A with zero points because of the deduction. Canada could still advance out of the group stage with a win over Colombia, but a restoration of the six points would put the Canadians atop Group A entering the final game.

In addition to deducting six points from the team’s Olympic group stage total (the equivalent of two wins), FIFA suspended Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman and two other staffers for one year and issued a fine Saturday. Canada did not appeal the…