Heather du Plessis-Allan: Canada needs to be punished properly

On first blush, that punishment that New Zealand is asking for in relation to Canada's drone spying might seem harsh - but it’s not.

I think it is exactly what needs to happen. The Canadian football team should be forced to forfeit any points they earn if they win the match against the Football Ferns tomorrow morning.

Which they probably will, because they are the defending Olympic champions and our team are ranked 28th in the world.

Why I think this needs to happen is to stop them - or anyone else - but predominantly them from doing this kind of thing again. Because as I predicted yesterday, this wasn't a one off. Turns out they spied twice with a drone - both this time, and also three days before.

And let's be honest, if they're prepared to do this to a team ranked 28th in the world, it doesn't take a massive leap of logic to assume they’d be prepared to do it to a team ranked much higher who will pose an actual threat to them on the field.

So this is not really about punishing them for spying on the Football Ferns - although there is a tiny element of justice there - it’s really about getting them and and others to suffer sufficiently to cut out this kind of nonsense.

Because if you don't punish them properly, they'll just keep doing it, because the incentive to do it remains.

It's also actually in the best interests of the Olympics and FIFA to be seen taking a hard line on cheats.

For the Olympics - they’ve got a problem convincing audiences that the Games are clean and fair when the Russians are back despite an industrial doping effort by the state. They've just rocked up under a different flag.

FIFA has a massive problem convincing anyone they’re not corrupt.

The Canadians have been caught red-handed here. The guy running the drone has been given a suspended jail sentence by the French justice system, there's no question that they were cheating.

The only question is whether the Olympics and FIFA will punish them properly or not.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Look on first blush that punishment that New Zealand is
asking for in relation to Canada's drone spying may seem
a little harsh, was actually not. I actually think this
is exactly what needs to happen. The Canadian football team
should be forced to forfeit any points that they earn
if they win the match against the football Ferns tomorrow morning,
which they probably will because they are the defending Olympic
champions in our team are ranked twenty eighth in the world.

(00:23):
But why I think this needs to happen is to
stop them, right or anyone else, but predominantly them from
doing this kind of thing again, because as I predicted yesterday,
it wasn't a one off. Turns out they spied twice
with the drone the occasion that we've found out about,
and then also three days before. And let's be honest
about it, if they're prepared to do this to a
team that's ranked twenty eighth in the world, doesn't take
a massive leap of logic to assume they'd be prepared

(00:45):
to do it to a team ranked much higher, which
actually may pose an actual threat on the field to them.
So this is not actually really about punishing them for
spying on the football ferns. Although there is a tiny
element of justice there, it's really about getting them and
others to suffer sufficiently to cut out this kind of
nonsense because if you do not punish them properly, and

(01:05):
giving up points is punishing them properly. If you do
not do that, they will just keep doing it because
the incentive to do that, to do it remains now.
It's also actually in the best interests of the Olympics
and of FIFA to do this, to be seen to
be taking a hard line on cheats, because for the Olympics,
they've got a real problem convincing audiences nowadays that the

(01:26):
games are fair when not. Just look, the Russians are back.
They had an industrial doping effort being run out of
the state, but they're back. They're just rocked up under
a different flag. FIFA has got a massive problem convincing
anyone that they're not corrupt. Now, the Canadians have been
caught red handed here right The guy running the drone
has been given a suspended jail sentence by the French

(01:46):
justice system, So there is no question over whether they
were cheating. They were cheating the only question is whether
the Olympics and FIFA are going to punish them properly
for it. For more from Heather Duplicy Allen Drive, listen
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