Investigation launched after Canadian water polo victory sparks match-throwing controversy
Canadian water polo legend claims France engineered easier route to Rio, calls for Olympic ban
Usually a decisive victory is cause to celebrate, but not if you're a fan or member of the Canadian men's water polo team.
Last week Canada handed France a 13- 5 drubbing in the final round-robin game of the Olympic qualifying tournament in Italy. Many who watched the game say it was obvious France threw the match.
"It was horrific," said four-time Canadian Olympic water polo player David Hart. "Any educated person would know, it was quite clear."
"Even more telling was that the announcers were apologizing to their audience on French television in the third and fourth quarter, saying it's clear the French team decided to lose this game."
In an emailed statement FINA — the international governing body of water polo — told CBC News it "is currently investigating this matter and can't comment further."
Port Coquitlam's Constantine Kudoba played in the game and couldn't believe how it unfolded.
"From my opinion as a player it was probably the most embarrassing game I've ever played," said the 11-year Canadian team veteran. "They were not trying, or making any effort, to put the ball in the net. When you have a national team throwing the ball 10 feet, 20 feet over the net...you know something's up."
The defeat ensured France an easier path to the semifinals and it took full advantage, finishing fourth in the tournament and grabbing the final Olympic qualifying spot.
Canada wound up facing powerful Spain in the quarter-finals — the team France wanted to avoid — and lost by a single goal, ending any hopes of qualifying for Rio.
Hart, 64, was so disgusted by the tanking that he wrote a letter of complaint to FINA and filed a complaint with the IOC Integrity and Compliance hotline.
Then he started an on-line petition asking that FINA and the IOC sanction France by revoking its Olympic berth.
"It is absolutely not sour grapes," he said. "The Canadian men have no benefit from this. The only team who might benefit is Holland, they were next in line."
Olympic precedent
There is precedent for what Hart is asking for. Eight badminton players were thrown out of the London Olympics in 2012 for purposely losing matches to manipulate the draw.
"The true issue here is that a system that allows and encourages manipulation should not been the process through which teams qualify or compete at major events," Hart said.
Hart also wants his campaign to stand as a statement for fair play and integrity, and believes it's time for international sport organizations to start doing the same. He says he's encouraged by the overwhelming reaction from people all over the world signing his petition.
"It's struck a chord," he said. "I'm 64, my career is over so I'm really kind of liberated in that sense. I'm going to go hard at this and see what I can do. I really have no motivation other than trying to make the game better and stop this kind of corruption."