Drones ‘spying’ on Honduras

– Honduran coach Jorge Luis Pinto has accused Australia of “espionage” after alleging they had used a drone to film his team’s training sessions ahead of tonight’s decisive World Cup playoff match.

The Honduran National Football Federation on Monday posted on Twitter footage of a drone flying above Sydney’s Olympic Stadium where the team trained after their long flight from Central America.

Honduras face the Socceroos at the same stadium tonight in the deciding second leg of their intercontinental play-off with the scores level at 0-0 after the first leg in San Pedro Sula on Friday.

While Football Federation Australia said they were not involved in the drone incident, Pinto said the affair was “embarrassing for such an advanced country”.

“Let’s not be innocent, it’s espionage in football,” he told reporters yesterday.

“When Australia went to Honduras, they checked every bathroom, every box at the stadium where they trained.”

Pinto was also involved in a row with the media at the start of Monday’s session when he tried to close training before the 15 minutes of open access allowed under Fifa rules. – Reuters

Sydney