Fifa investigating France’s claims that a drone spied on training

Source: Guardian

Fifa investigating France’s claims that a drone spied on training

• Didier Deschamps alleges aircraft flew over team base
• ‘We don’t want any intrusion into our privacy,’ says coach

Stuart James in Porto Alegre
theguardian.com, Saturday 14 June 2014 16.01 EDT

Didier Deschamps has expressed concerns that France’s preparations for Sunday’s opening game against Honduras have been compromised by a possible spying mission after a drone hovered over their training camp in Brazil.

The France manager said that Fifa was carrying out an investigation into the bizarre incident, which took place during a training session at the team’s base in Ribeirão Preto before their departure for Porto Alegre.

It is unclear at this stage who was behind the stunt, although Deschamps was clearly less than impressed, unlike a number of the French players, who are believed to have reacted with amusement when the drone – a small unmanned flying machine more commonly used to spy on military targets – hovered above.

A Honduran reporter was quick to point out during Deschamps’ pre-match press conference that the drone had nothing to do with France’s opponents at the Estádio Beira-Rio. Fifa is yet to comment on the situation, with Deschamps happy to leave the matter in the governing body’s hands.


Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jun/14/france-drone-fifa-spying-investigation-world-cup