GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) – Mexican military intercepted and shot down a drone that was flying near the South Korean national soccer team ahead of their training camp. world cup against Mexico, a federal official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Mexican federal officials said the military used specialized equipment to detect “unregistered drones” near South Korean military camps, prompting them to “neutralize” them.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the incident.
Co-host Mexico wins first match in Group A Thursday’s World Cup Korea defeats Czech Republic within the same day. It is unclear whether the drones were attempting to spy on the South Korean teams ahead of Thursday’s game between them.
South Korean coach Hong Myung-bo called the incident “unfortunate.”
“Yesterday (Tuesday), I learned that there was a drone flying in the sky during a training exercise,” Hong said through an interpreter. “But fortunately, it didn’t affect me because it was right before we practiced tactics. However, it was unfortunate that it happened because it was the most important moment when we were preparing for the match.”
The operation in Mexico was part of a security plan involving the military and local police for the soccer tournament. It opened last week in Mexico City. The event will be co-hosted by the United States and Canada until July 19th.
The official did not say when the incident occurred or whether there were any arrests. He said only that several drones had been neutralized in recent days after attempting to enter security zones around stadiums, team base camps and fan festivals in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey (Mexico’s three host cities).
In March, Mexican authorities announced a World Cup security operation known as Plan Kukulkan, involving around 100,000 federal and local military and police personnel. The plan includes early warning systems, safety measures at stadiums, airports, roads and hotels, and protection protocols for teams, officials and fans.
in CanadaAs a safety measure, authorities have banned unauthorized drones from flying over World Cup stadiums and several practice ranges in Vancouver and Toronto. The restrictions will remain in place until July 7, the date of the last scheduled match in the country.
Canada’s women’s national team will be accused of using drones in 2024 Spy on New Zealand training sessions In the days leading up to the opening games of the Paris Olympics, a spying scandal was sparked that led to sanctions against Canada.
The scandal led to two members of the coaching staff and head coach Bev Priestman being suspended and subsequently fired by Canada Soccer. Canada’s women’s team, the reigning champions at the Tokyo Olympics, had six points deducted from their group standings at the French Games.
Canada Soccer later determined that the incident was not an isolated mistake, but part of a pattern of poor coaching within the national team.
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Sanchez reported from Mexico City. AP Sports Writer Ann M. Peterson in Vancouver contributed to this report.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
