2024 Olympics scandals: From Team Canada's drone-spying to outrage over the Last Supper controversy, these headlines are taking over Paris

The Olympics are never short on controversy and scandal, and Paris has been no different so far. From opening ceremony shenanigans, to polluted water, drone-spying and hijab bans, here are the stories that are stealing the headlines at the 2024 Paris Olympics for all the wrong reasons.

Paris' Seine River still unfit for competition despite $1.5-billion spend

On Monday, the swim portion of Monday's Olympic triathlon training session was cancelled for the second consecutive day because of the ongoing water-quality issues in Paris' Seine River.

Tuesday, however, saw the organizers' worst fears come to light as City of Paris representatives, along with World Triathlon officials, were forced to postpone the men's triathlon event because the water quality in the Seine River is still awful.

"Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes. The tests carried out in the Seine [Tuesday] revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held," the joint statement read, in part.

The race was supposed to start at 8 a.m. Paris time, but has been postponed to Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. The women's race, which is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Wednesday, is still scheduled to run on time, but could be pushed to Friday.

Heavy rain last week reportedly increased pollution levels and sped up the current, rendering the water unsafe for swimming. Olympic organizers said they were "confident" the swimming portion of both the men's and women's triathlon events would not be affected with the men set to begin Tuesday and the women set to hit the water on Wednesday. That, however, was always far from a guarantee.

Paris spent a whopping $1.5 billion ahead of these Olympics to clean and treat the water for the triathlon and marathon swimming events, but heavy downpours over the weeks and days ahead of the 2024 Games have caused bacteria levels to spike once again.

If it indeed does go ahead as planned, the swimming portion of the triathlon will mark the first time athletes have competed in the channel since the 1900 Paris Games. Yes, 1900.

Swimming in the Seine River has been illegal for more than 100 years because of its poor water quality.

Canada women's soccer embroiled in drone-spying controversy

The biggest sports-related controversy of Paris so far went down before the 2024 Games even began, with the Canadian women's soccer team at the centre of a drone-spying scandal that has stolen the headlines early on.

A Canadian analyst was caught flying a drone over a closed New Zealand training session ahead of their Olympic-opening match last Thursday. The staffer in question was detained and eventually sent home from the Olympics after police raided the staffer's hotel room and recovered the footage.

FIFA investigations followed and eventually resulted in heavy punishments for the Canadian side, including a massive fine for Canada Soccer, one-year bans for three of Canada's coaches including head coach Bev Priestman, and a six-point deduction to be implemented during the group stage of this Olympic women's soccer competition.

Priestman, in a statement released through her lawyer, apologized "from the bottom of my heart" for the impact the situation has had on Canada's players. She also took accountability for the scandal and said she plans to fully co-operate with the investigation. On Sunday, Canadian sports minister Carla Qualtrough said the federal government will be withholding some of Canada Soccer's funding in light of the scandal.

The Canadian Olympic Committee, along with Canada Soccer — the nation's governing body for the sport — officially appealed FIFA's six-point penalty.

"The appeal is based on the disproportionality of the sanction, which we believe unfairly punishes the athletes for actions they had no part in and goes far beyond restoring fairness to the match against New Zealand," the COC wrote in a statement.

A hearing before a three-judge panel is set to take place Tuesday, with a ruling expected Wednesday, ahead of Canada's last group stage game against Colombia. Even if the point deduction stands, Canada can still advance with a win on Wednesday.

Controversial opening ceremony imagery causes a stir

There was a lot going on during last Friday's opening ceremony, from the first-of-its-kind boat parade, to terrible weather, to Celine Dion rallying the masses with her first live performance in five years as she trudges through serious health issues.

What caused the biggest stir, however, was none of the above. During a controversial tableau, dancers and drag queens gathered around a table in a scene many believed to be eerily similar to Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting of Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles.

Following the performance, some flooded to social media, labelling the performance “insulting to Christian people,” and a “mockery” among other things. Others celebrated the imagery as a win for inclusivity and the LGBTQ+ community.

On Sunday, amid the backlash, Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps apologized “if people have taken any offence” to the imagery.

“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think that (artistic director) Thomas Jolly really tried to celebrate community tolerance,” Descamps said at a press conference. “We believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence, we are really sorry.”

The opening ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, has also said that da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” portrait was not the inspiration behind the show. Jolly said he was actually inspired by Greek mythology and the Feast of Dionysus — the Greek god of wine.

“In France, we have the right to love each other, as we want and with who we want. In France, we have the right to believe or to not believe. In France, we have a lot of rights. Voila,” said Jolly.

“My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” Jolly added. “Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”

The French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops, however, lamented what it called “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity,” adding:

"Our thoughts are with all the Christians from all continents who were hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes.”

Christians weren't the only only ones flocking to social media to voice their displeasure over the display, as conservative politicians, including former U.S. president Donald Trump, chimed in.

“I thought that the opening ceremony was a disgrace, actually,” Trump said.

Meanwhile, right wing French politician Marion Maréchal chimed in, adding "know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation."

On Tuesday, the opening ceremony's DJ, Barbara Butch's lawyer told The Associated Press that she has filed a formal legal complaint alleging she's received "cyber-harassment, death threats, and insults" in the wake of her performance on Friday.

Athletes, countries speak out over France's Olympic hijab ban

Olympians from France and beyond have been vocally outraged over the country's rules prohibiting French athletes participating in certain sports from wearing the hijab or religious headscarves during the Paris Games.

French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla, who says she was told she wouldn't be allowed to participate in last Friday's opening ceremony because of her hijab, took to social media a couple days before the 2024 Olympics began to blast the country's controversial rule.

"You are selected for the Olympics, organized in your country, but you can't participate in the opening ceremony because you wear a headscarf," Sylla posted on her private Instagram account, according to various reports.

Sylla's comments were just the latest to condemn France's hijab rules, which states Olympic athletes, while competing for France, are considered civil servants and "must adhere to principles of secularism," according to ABC News.

On Sunday, Australian boxer Tina Rahimi spoke out against France’s hijab ban, writing on her Instagram account: “Women have the right to choose how they want to dress. With or without hijab. I choose to wear the hijab as a part of my religion and I am proud to do so."

A coalition of groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch wrote a letter to the IOC condemning the headwear ban.

“The bans imposed by the French sports authorities are discriminatory and prevent Muslim athletes who decide to wear the hijab from exercising their human right to play sport without discrimination of any kind," the letter read.

“The bans also fly in the face of the human rights requirements for host countries and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights, as well as being antithetical to the fundamental principles of Olympism.”

Investigations underway over alleged racist posts, anti-Semitic displays

British women's rugby sevens player Amy Wilson-Hardy, who is under a racism investigation, sat out her team's 19-15 upset loss to China on Tuesday — the final day of the Olympic tournament in Paris.

Team officials said Wilson-Hardy was not under suspension and that her place was taken by an injury replacement.

British publication The Independent reported on Tuesday that a screen shot of what appeared to be a WhatsApp message from Wilson-Hardy appeared on Instagram, with the person posting it alleging its contents to be racist.

“The British Olympic Association has been made aware of an image published on a social media platform and is investigating the matter,” said a BOA spokesperson.

Meanwhile, a group of Pro-Palestinian activists are under investigation after they appeared to use "anti-Semitic gestures" during Israel’s national anthem ahead of a men’s soccer match against Paraguay on Saturday.

The video that surfaced Monday also showed spectators waiving Palestinian flags and shouting an indistinguishable chant. Pictures had previously circulated of the group holding two banners with the words "Genocide Olympics" scrawled across them.

"Paris 2024 strongly condemns these acts. A complaint has been lodged by Paris 2024, which is at the disposal of the authorities to assist with the investigation," read a statement from Olympic organizers.

"We obviously deplore that," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams on Tuesday. "It has no place in sport, it has no place amongst the watching fans."

This comes in light of a judoka from Tajikistan, Nurali Emomali, appeared to skip the customary post-match handshake after defeating Israeli opponent Tohar Butbul in the round of 16 on Sunday.