data-mm-id=”_sad2rd44d”>Participants in the Paris Olympics are being sent home, but one quick exit has nothing to do with dashed gold medal dreams — and everything to do with lost integrity.This week, Canada women’s soccer’s illegal spying on opponents came to light after New Zealand issued a complaint about a drone flying over its training session. The drone was traced back to a Canada team staffer, sparking an immediate investigation by FIFA and impromptu internal damage control by the Canadian Olympic Committee.On Saturday, Canada’s shocking Spygate scandal resulted in severe penalties with head coach Bev Priestman being banned for a year by FIFA. Also, the Canadians were docked six points in the current Olympic women's soccer tournament, hampering their chances of defending their Olympic crown.Turns out, the Canadian women aren’t the only ones who’ve employed drone spying tactics. The Canadian men have done it, too.Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue broke his silence Friday and admitted that the national teams have used drones to spy on opponents at other major tournaments — including an attempt by the Canadian men at this year’s Copa America (which newly appointed head coach Jesse Marsch reportedly rejected). Blue called the “deeply embedded systemic culture” of illegal scouting “completely unacceptable.”The shocking developments lead to the obvious larger question: How long has the drone spying been going on?The Canada women won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021. The Canada men finished first in CONCACAF qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. Did any drone spying aid the teams' success?Some Canadian soccer standouts have taken to social media to provide clarity and plead their innocence.All-time leading scorer Christine Sinclair wrote on Instagram that she and her teammates "were never shown or discussed drone footage in team or individual meetings I’ve been present for.” Stephanie Labbé, the starting goalkeeper on Canada's Tokyo Games championship squad, posted on X that "NO DRONE FOOTAGE was watched."if anyone wants to speak about pks. i studied HARD the night before every match. Watched video of players taking pks in national team and club games. Made my own educated guesses based on that info. NO DRONE FOOTAGE was watched. Do not confuse great goalkeeping with cheating.— Stephanie Labbé (@stephlabbe1) July 26, 2024A white-hot spotlight has been placed on John Herdman, who served as head coach for Canada's women (2011-2018) and Canada's men (2018-2023). Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Real Salt Lake coach said he would assist with Canada soccer federation's investigation."From my side, I’ll help Canada Soccer where I can with that review," Herdman said. "But I’m highly confident that in my time as a head coach at an Olympic Games or World Cup, we’ve never been involved in any of those activities.”
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Those are the words of Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos who made it clear during a recent interview that he was close to joining Manchester United back in 2014 prior to the World Cup. David Moyes had initially revealed that information back in 2018, and it turns out that it was true.
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Rangers cut the gap to leaders Celtic down to two points in the Scottish Premiership thanks to a 2-1 victory at their Old Firm rivals on Sunday, despite another red card for Alfredo Morelos.
Nikola Katic s 56th-minute header secured Rangers their first league triumph at Celtic Park in 10 attempts, raising hopes for Steven Gerrard s squad they may finally be able to end Celtic s long run of dominance in the top flight.
While the reigning champions remain at the summit, their Glasgow neighbours have a game in hand as they bid to lift the title for the first time since 2010-11.
The only setback for Gerrard was the late dismissal of Morelos, who was sent off for the seventh time in his Rangers career after picking up a second booking for diving during added tim…
Best Odds: 4/7
Bookmaker:
Desperate to widen their buffer at the top of the Premier League table on Wednesday night, Liverpool will welcome Chelsea to Anfield.
Liverpool
Starting with the hosts, with fans around Anfield left heartbroken over the weekend as Jurgen Klopp announced that he will be ending his nine-year stint on Merseyside, Liverpool will be desperate to sign off the 56-year-old’s story with another Premier League crown. Extending on their FA Cup adventure over the weekend as they secured an action-packed 5-2 victory against Championship outfit Norwich, the one-time Borussia Dortmund boss is looking to make more history this year. Marking their return to top-flight action holding a five-point buffer at the top of the table, Liverpool have suffered…
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Brazil sneak their way to the final
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Atletico Madrid have confirmed Koke suffered a grade one thigh injury in Saturday s 3-0 win at Huesca.
Diego Simeone s squad has been ravaged by injuries this season and Koke was the latest to find himself with a problem on Saturday.
The midfielder scored Atletico s final goal in the 71st minute, but was forced off soon after.
Atletico are already missing Saul Niguez, Diego Costa, Filipe Luis, Stefan Savic, Gelson Martins, Vitolo and Nikola Kalinic.
| INJURY UPDATE suffers grade I muscle injury to the right thigh. He is pending clinical evolution.
— Atletico de Madrid (@atletienglish)
However, Koke is not expected to be out for long, as Atletico confirmed he has only suffered a grade one strain.
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Liverpool’s 2022 Carabao Cup final hero Caoimhin Kelleher will be more than happy to stay out of the limelight at Wembley.
The Republic of Ireland international scored what turned out to be the winning spot-kick after a goalless final against Sunday’s opponents Chelsea in an epic shoot-out which finished 11-10 when Kelleher’s opposite number Kepa Arrizabalaga blazed over, the only failure from either side.
It was fitting for the Irishman, who has been Liverpool’s League Cup goalkeeper for the last few seasons, but he would prefer a quieter afternoon this time around.
Man like Kelleher
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
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Nap…
In this tutorial, I will show you how to bet on Odd/Even goals in football. What does odd/even mean in betting? How do you place an odd/even football bet? These are just a few topics discussed in this article.
What is an odd/even bet?
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