The fall-out has been swift as the Olympics spy-gate" controversy deepened. Photo: AFP
It is the drone heard around the world.
New Zealand has found itself at the centre of one of the major international storylines of the Paris Olympic Games days out from the opening, as the "spy-gate" controversy deepened.
The scandal kicked off when it was revealed that a rogue support staffer with Canada's women's football team had flown a drone over the Football Ferns training as part of a scouting mission.
Following internal investigations, the Canadian Olympic Committee confirmed the staffer had also filmed a second, earlier Ferns training session.
The fall-out has been swift. Canada head coach Bev Priestman has stood herself down from overseeing Friday's opening match against New Zealand, while Joseph Lombardi, an "unaccredited analyst," and assistant coach Jasmine Mander have been sent home amid multiple investigations.
Much of the drama played out in a series of sternly-worded statements.
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) said it was "shocked and disappointed" with the conduct of the two members of its football team and apologised to the New Zealand team.
The COC added that the staff of Canada Soccer would undergo "mandatory ethics training".
Canada head coach Bev Priestman apologised to New Zealand players. Photo: William West/AFP
Priestman later followed up with an apology of her own.
"On behalf of our entire team, I first and foremost want to apologise to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada. This does not represent the values that our team stands for," she said.
"I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program. Accordingly, to emphasize our team's commitment to integrity, I have decided to voluntarily withdraw from coaching the match on [Friday]. In the spirit of accountability, I do this with the interests of both teams in mind and to ensure everyone feels that the sportsmanship of this game is upheld."
Fifa then got in on the act, posting a statement on its website confirming its disciplinary committee has "opened proceedings" against Canada Soccer, Priestman, Lombardi and Mander to look into potential breaches of the world governing body's rules.
The incident appears to fall within a jurisdictional matrix. The New Zealand Olympic team have also logged a complaint with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) integrity unit, while French authorities are investigating how the security breach occurred.
Lombardi was detained by local police on Monday night following a complaint from New Zealand Football.
The only officials to front were New Zealand chef de mission Nigel Avery and the NZOC's public affairs director Ashley Abbott earlier in the day.
"This is an incident that goes against everything we stand for, with our values, our commitment to an even and fair playing field," Avery told a media conference.
Avery said the NZOC's focus in on supporting the Fern's from both a "wellbeing and performance standpoint" as the team prepares for Friday morning's opener.
"They haven't had a smooth build-up and this is something they have to overcome.
"To say it's an unwanted distraction is an understatement."
The Ferns team departed for France in a state of turmoil, after coach Jitka Klimkova stepped aside from the Paris campaign following a failed "restorative process" to rebuild relationships in the team. The move came after Klimkova was in June cleared by an employment investigation - although the details of what kicked off the investigation remain a mystery.
Late last night, in the midst of the extraordinary twists and turns of the spying saga came a further blow.
Football Ferns captain Ali Riley, who was seeking to join a select group of women to compete at a fifth Olympic Games, was withdrawn on medical grounds.
