England caught up in spy controversy ahead of Australia semi-final

The Australian Daily Telegraph sent up a helicopter to take photos of the Lionesses’ behind-closed-doors training session

A spying controversy has erupted ahead of England’s World Cup semi-final clash against hosts Australia, after a national newspaper sent a helicopter to photograph the Lionesses’ pre-match training session.

The Australian Daily Telegraph used the photos from England’s behind-closed-doors session in its coverage ahead of the eagerly-anticipated Sydney showdown, showing Sarina Wiegman and her side finalising their plans for the match.

Australia has been gripped by Matildas fever ahead of the semi-final, which is set to be the country’s biggest sporting occasion since Cathy Freeman ran for her iconic 400m gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and the meeting with England has taken the excitement up to another level.

The newspaper printed the photos of England training under the headline: “Eleven Poms against a nation: Welcome to the jungle, Lionesses”. It continued: “If England’s Lionesses thought they would happily fly into the World Cup semi-final under the radar they were in for a rude shock.

“We’ve sent the chopper up to see how the old enemy are preparing…Welcome to the jungle, Lionesses, we’ve got fun and games.

“It might not be in the spirit of football, but after last month’s men’s Ashes cricket series we will let the moral arbiters England pass judgement on what is and isn’t acceptable in the world of sport.”

The FA declined to comment on the incident.

The Matildas’ exploits have galvanised a nation which revels in its sporting rivalry with England and is still in celebratory mood having already retained the Ashes and won the Netball World Cup at the expense of the old enemy this summer.

Wiegman and her players have brushed aside that element of the fixture, although back at home, memories of Alex Carey’s controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow in the second Test at Lord’s, which prompted booing and chants of ‘Same old Aussies, always cheating’ throughout the remainder of the series, are still fresh in the collective mind.

Includes reporting from PA