Football (Soccer)

[CM-BlueButterfly]

Football: Jul 24 & 25, 27 & 28, 30 & 31, Aug 2 & 3, 5 & 6, 8 - 10

[Daisy]

I don't know what was going on w/the drone thing  regarding Canada's Soccer team, but FIFA has banned the head coach (and 2 of her assistants) for 1 year of anything coaching related and 6 point penalty to Canada. 

to which I have to say that one is a bit excessive. since the drama was against NZ, and Canada beat them. just give NZ the 3 points. now Canada has to go perfect. and they still might not be able to move on. Which if that is the case - then you should simply just eliminate them. drawing it out is what bugs me. 

[Pandora]

28 minutes ago, Daisy said:

to which I have to say that one is a bit excessive. since the drama was against NZ, and Canada beat them. just give NZ the 3 points. now Canada has to go perfect. and they still might not be able to move on. Which if that is the case - then you should simply just eliminate them. drawing it out is what bugs me. 

I’m not sure what FIFA was specifically allowed to do in this situation. Maybe administratively deducting 6 points might be easier than eliminating the Canadian women’s team altogether. I have no real idea though, and don’t much care to read FIFA rules to find out.
 

Apparently the investigation is uncovering waaaay more drone spying than just these Olympic Games. It may go back to 2019 and involve the Canadian men’s team too. Which means the Canadian women’s gold at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo is under suspicion. Which is awful to me, I’m a fan of Christine Sinclair and anything to tarnish her gold medal would be awful. The gold medal shootout was epic too.
 

Both Sinclair and Stephanie Labbe (goalie for the Canadian women in Tokyo) have denied any knowledge or use of spy drone footage. 

[Daisy]

11 minutes ago, Pandora said:

Apparently the investigation is uncovering waaaay more drone spying than just these Olympic Games. It may go back to 2019 and involve the Canadian men’s team too. Which means the Canadian women’s gold at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo is under suspicion. Which is awful to me, I’m a fan of Christine Sinclair and anything to tarnish her gold medal would be awful. The gold medal shootout was epic too.

oh that would suck. Im with you, Christine Sinclair is up there in Clara Hughes territory for me and that would stink if this tarnishes her win.  

I honestly didn't realise it was like this extensive as well. this is drama to be sure. (and you are right. maybe FIFA couldn't do much than just make it harder for Canada to advance). 

[Daisy]

the COC & Soccer Canada have filed an appeal about FIFA's judgement on the 6point punishment citing that while they fully support the punishment on the coaching staff, the players had no control over their actions and it is over punitive and goes above and beyond what is fair in compensation to New Zealand. the decision will be released on Wednesday.  

[meep.meep]

It was a delight to watch the US women play Germany yesterday.  Such teamwork!

 

[daria]

I’m feeling a bit lost this Olympics. I haven’t kept up with any of the other tournaments and it felt like a totally different team without the usual suspects - Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath, Kelley O hara et al. Lindsay Horan is the only name I barely recognize.
 

But still they got the job by done. Looks like USWNT has established a good pipeline of talent.

[Pandora]

5 hours ago, Daisy said:

the COC & Soccer Canada have filed an appeal about FIFA's judgement on the 6point punishment citing that while they fully support the punishment on the coaching staff, the players had no control over their actions and it is over punitive and goes above and beyond what is fair in compensation to New Zealand. the decision will be released on Wednesday.  

I have mixed feelings about this. I hate seeing the players take the hit from what staff did. It’s really not fair to the players. And the players have denied knowing what was happening. So far as I know anyhow.

On the other hand, cheating can certainly provide an unfair advantage. You can’t ignore that fact, it’s like an athlete who is unwittingly doped. They may not have been at fault at all. But they probably had an advantage. It’s an ethical dilemma.

What a mess. I really hope this doesn’t go badly for Canadian soccer. 

[Daisy]

4 minutes ago, Pandora said:

I have mixed feelings about this. I hate seeing the players take the hit from what staff did. It’s really not fair to the players. And the players have denied knowing what was happening. So far as I know anyhow.

On the other hand, cheating can certainly provide an unfair advantage. You can’t ignore that fact, it’s like an athlete who is unwittingly doped. They may not have been at fault at all. But they probably had an advantage. It’s an ethical dilemma.

What a mess. I really hope this doesn’t go badly for Canadian soccer. 

for sure. I'm being consistent here. (like in general). I remember when Andreea Raducaan got stripped of her gold medal because her doctor doped her up with an illegal substance (at the time which makes it worse it's not even banned now). It wasn't her fault. she put her trust in her team's doctor (which she had to) and he screwed up and it cost her her Olympic title.  In that instance and a lot of people at he time said the same thing - she should not have been punished so harshly for something completely out of their control. 

I am not condoning the drone cheating thing. i have no idea the depths of this ie: were the team shown footage or was it more of the coaching staff made a game play of the footage  and it was discussed. that's probably going to come out more in the inquiry. But if it's was against NZ - then for sure. dock the 3 points. no advantage there and the slate is clean. but it's the extra 3 points against the team which is so tough. because like is it that because you think there was more than 1 team the coaches spied on? did you just want to make a very strict punishment to make sure this never happened again?  that's what the COC/Soccer Canada is fighting against. and considering that both COC/Soccer Canada and the federal government moved so swiftly to punish everyone involved in this, they have to be doing their own investigations (i can imagine) before even filing the appeal so they must feel confidant that the team itself is innocent (for the most part since they did receive the information)

it really is a mess. if Canada ends up winning despite all of it it will be an olympic story for all time that's for sure. 

[Chaser]

I really did not think the first cheating scandal would be Canada. 

[Pandora]

On 7/29/2024 at 8:11 PM, Daisy said:

I am not condoning the drone cheating thing.

I hope I didn’t unintentionally imply that. My apologies if I did. It’s a messy situation all around. And there are all sorts of unknowns while everyone has to deal with this quickly, instead of having weeks or months to investigate and establish a clear picture. 

Canadian soccer apparently lost their appeal over the 6 point deduction, so it’s win or go home vs. Colombia today.

Watching U.S. women vs. Australia now. I’m rooting for the U.S. but am disappointed Sam Kerr isn’t on the pitch. I wish someone could fix this ACL injury plague.

[Daisy]

7 minutes ago, Pandora said:

I hope I didn’t unintentionally imply that. My apologies if I did. It’s a messy situation all around. And there are all sorts of unknowns while everyone has to deal with this quickly, instead of having weeks or months to investigate and establish a clear picture. 

 

nope, we're good! I just know sometimes when you defend something, people feel you're defending the cheating which is not the case. but in any regards, the Court of Arbitration of Sport rejected the appeal. so the -6 penalty stands and Canada has to win today vs. Columbia to even have  have a shot for a medal chance. 

 

[SeanC]

Now we see if Canada can actually qualify out of the group in women's soccer despite being docked six of a possible nine standing points.

[SeanC]

Canada scores!

[Daisy]

Canada wins!!  they needed to win - they won all 3 games. 

[SeanC]

This is, ironically, probably the best group stage Canada has ever had at the Olympics.

[Daisy]

when the girls interview they are so pissed off. a lot of them are just being really raw right now, basically all they've been doing has been crying, punching walls, hugging each other trying to put this behind them and crying more. and they are all adamant that they are not cheaters and they are happy that Canada is behind them and they want to do their best. 

my heart really breaks for them. all those who were cheating though can go kick a crap pile of rocks. or at least go swimming in the River Siene after the rain

[Shrek]

US mens team crashes out in the quarter finals after losing 0-4 to Morocco.

[Daisy]

Canada loses to Germany on penalties. the goalie couldn't stop a single one. (the 2 misses were both wide) 

[satrunrose]

3 hours ago, Daisy said:

Canada loses to Germany on penalties. the goalie couldn't stop a single one. (the 2 misses were both wide) 

Aw, dang. Not totally surprised, they did not look good in those bits of the match I saw. I may have to turn in my citizenship for this, but I was really hoping for them to get silver or bronze, because they worked so hard to overcome that massive point deficit, but not gold because they did still cheat. I know it's not the players' fault, but I have complained enough about teams outed for cheating still getting medals that I feel hypocritical if I don't hold my country to the same standard. 

Also, I get that emotions are high (and for good reason) but the team captain going on about how the world hates us (the Canadian team) but we support each other rubbed me the wrong way. The coaches cheated and it may have gone on for a long time, other countries aren't unreasonable to have feelings about that. 

[Daisy]

1 minute ago, satrunrose said:

Aw, dang. Not totally surprised, they did not look good in those bits of the match I saw. I may have to turn in my citizenship for this, but I was really hoping for them to get silver or bronze, because they worked so hard to overcome that massive point deficit, but not gold because they did still cheat. I know it's not the players' fault, but I have complained enough about teams outed for cheating still getting medals that I feel hypocritical if I don't hold my country to the same standard. 

Also, I get that emotions are high (and for good reason) but the team captain going on about how the world hates us (the Canadian team) but we support each other rubbed me the wrong way. The coaches cheated and it may have gone on for a long time, other countries aren't unreasonable to have feelings about that. 

my thing is this. the coach cheated but until we have proof that the people on the team saw all that footage. they didn't. they were victims in this.(or as i pointed out before, I will qualify this as someone who can actually claim they were sabotaged with a PED - like Andreea Raducaan. [well hers was a diuretic but still].  but i do get that. 

but i don't blame the girls for being pissed off for being lumped as cheaters when they didn't ask the coach to go send drones over other teams pitches. and i don't know (personally - me being a former athlete - not like Olympic level or anything). if my coach had a great gameplan for us if my first thought is going to be "how do you know so much?" you know what i mean?).  the countries do have the right to be angry about the cheating, but i think the girls [until it's proven otherwise] have the right to be angry to be lumped in as cheaters.  if that makes sense. 

but yeah. i was hoping that they'd at least medal. this is the first time they won't - but honestly they looked like hot garbage out there, and i think honestly - it makes sense because if it were me i'd be emotional spent after the first week. 

[satrunrose]

29 minutes ago, Daisy said:

my thing is this. the coach cheated but until we have proof that the people on the team saw all that footage. they didn't. they were victims in this.(or as i pointed out before, I will qualify this as someone who can actually claim they were sabotaged with a PED - like Andreea Raducaan. [well hers was a diuretic but still].  but i do get that. 

but i don't blame the girls for being pissed off for being lumped as cheaters when they didn't ask the coach to go send drones over other teams pitches. and i don't know (personally - me being a former athlete - not like Olympic level or anything). if my coach had a great gameplan for us if my first thought is going to be "how do you know so much?" you know what i mean?).  the countries do have the right to be angry about the cheating, but i think the girls [until it's proven otherwise] have the right to be angry to be lumped in as cheaters.  if that makes sense. 

but yeah. i was hoping that they'd at least medal. this is the first time they won't - but honestly they looked like hot garbage out there, and i think honestly - it makes sense because if it were me i'd be emotional spent after the first week. 

Oh, no, I don't think the players are cheaters at all. I wouldn't have asked how the coaches got the gameplan either if I were on the team. I would have just assumed they watched past matches on Youtube or whatever. I also agree that being lumped in as a cheater isn't something anyone wants (even the actual cheaters!). I guess my thing was that the fault for them getting lumped in with the cheaters is squarely on the coaches, not on the other countries. Obviously, she wasn't going to call out the coaching staff, but I didn't think it was entirely right to make it an Us vs The Mean Other Countries situation. 

I really wish they could have gotten bronze or silver, just to prove how awesome they could be on their own. 

[Daisy]

6 minutes ago, satrunrose said:

I really wish they could have gotten bronze or silver, just to prove how awesome they could be on their own. 

this is what i wanted as well. and maybe just some balm on that wounded soul as well. :)

and I am with you now - that makes sense mhm. 

[Souris]

So nice to see the U.S. women back on top! I admit to really only paying attention to the sport in the Olympics, and though I did hear about the early World Cup ouster, I didn't really get how much of a mess they were in. So huge kudos to Emma Hayes on the turnaround! That is pretty darn impressive.

Now if someone could do that for the U.S. men.... 

Edited August 10 by Souris

[meep.meep]

On 8/3/2024 at 5:19 PM, satrunrose said:

Oh, no, I don't think the players are cheaters at all. I wouldn't have asked how the coaches got the gameplan either if I were on the team. I would have just assumed they watched past matches on Youtube or whatever. I also agree that being lumped in as a cheater isn't something anyone wants (even the actual cheaters!). I guess my thing was that the fault for them getting lumped in with the cheaters is squarely on the coaches, not on the other countries. Obviously, she wasn't going to call out the coaching staff, but I didn't think it was entirely right to make it an Us vs The Mean Other Countries situation. 

I really wish they could have gotten bronze or silver, just to prove how awesome they could be on their own. 

The problem is that until they go to another tournament where everyone can be assured that there is no on-going drone coverage, everything the Canadian team does is tainted by the cheating.  Every line up, every substitution, every bit of coaching is tainted because they could have gotten information from the drone footage that helped them make those decisions.  Too bad for the players, but better that they didn't medal.   They should hope that nobody decides to take a backward look at other tournaments where they ended at the top since apparently they've been doing it for years.

And Yeah! for Team USA!  Great finale to get the gold.  When are they going to start interviewing Emma Hayes?  No one's ever done what she did.

[wanderingstar]

So delighted to see the US women win the gold!

[shoregirl]

2 hours ago, wanderingstar said:

So delighted to see the US women win the gold!

Me too. 

I follow Sam Coffeys sister on social media because she's a beat writer for the Phillies, so it's been fun to see this from a family members eyes 

Alex Coffey is a great writer, I happy she got a chance to experience this now I happy she'll get back to writing great Phillies stories.