Sinclair, Labbe deny viewing drone footage as scandal threatens to tarnish Canada Soccer

Two former members of the Canadian women's soccer team who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics have denied watching drone footage of their competitors.

Their statements come several days into a drone-spying scandal that threatens to tarnish the image of Canadian soccer during one of the biggest spotlights for the women's national team, amid the possibility of what the head of Canada Soccer described as "a systemic ethical shortcoming" within the organization.

Former captain Christine Sinclair, who retired last year with more than 300 caps on the senior team, said she had never been shown or discussed drone footage in team or individual meetings she was present for during 23 years.

"It's unfortunate that the players of our national team have had to play through condemnable actions by some of their staff as they attempt to defend our gold medal," Sinclair said in a statement released on her Instagram account. "Actions players have no control over."

Retired goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé, whose heroics in net were key to Canada winning gold, said she studied the night before every match, watching video of players taking penalty kicks in national and club team games. 

"Made my own educated guesses based on that info," Labbé wrote on X. "NO DRONE FOOTAGE was watched. Do not confuse great goalkeeping with cheating."

While Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue emphasized that players at the Paris Olympics haven't engaged in any unethical behaviour, he painted a less rosy picture of the organization as a whole. 

WATCH | Blue addresses drone scandal and what is known so far: 

"The more I learn about this specific matter, the more concerned I get about a potential long-term and deeply embedded systemic culture of this type of thing occurring,