• World Cup

FIFA probes France 'spy drone' claim

ESPN staff
June 15, 2014
Didier Deschamps says there is a positive mood in the French camp © Getty Images
Enlarge

France manager Didier Deschamps has revealed concerns that his side's final World Cup preparations may have been spied on by a drone flying over their training camp.

France's build-up for Sunday's World Cup Group E against Honduras was disturbed at their base in Ribeirao Preto by an unmanned aerial vehicle appearing over their heads.

It has not been confirmed to whom the device belonged, or who was controlling it at the time, but Deschamps said that such practices were becoming more commonplace in football and that world governing body FIFA was looking into the incident.

"Apparently drones are used more and more," Deschamps, a World Cup-winner as a player with France in 1998, told a news conference. "It's not up to me. FIFA handles this and has been carrying out an inquiry; we don't want any intrusion into our privacy. It's very hard to fight this these days."

France will play their first World Cup finals fixture since the ignominious end to their 2010 campaign, when infighting within the squad and poor performances off it led to the 2006 finalists being eliminated at the group stage.

Deschamps, however, insists that there is a much more positive air inside the camp as he prepares to enter his first major finals as an international manager.

"You shouldn't mention South Africa," he said. "We're now in another World Cup, we're in Brazil and were not going to be judged by what we did four years ago. It's wonderful to have a good atmosphere here. We have supporters behind the team."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
ESPN staff Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices