Canada sends women's soccer coach home from Olympics amid drone spying scandal
Canada women's soccer coach Bev Priestman has been sent home from the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal.
The announcement by the Canadian Olympic Committee about Priestman's suspension came late Thursday following a TSN report alleging that Canada's men's and women's national soccer teams had used drones to spy on opponents for the past several years.
Canada Soccer CEO and general secretary Kevin Blue said in the COC release "additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games."
He added Priestman was suspended from her duties until the end of the tournament and the completion of the organization’s independent external review.
Priestman had agreed to a contract in late January to coach Canada through the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
Priestman was hired in November 2020 to succeed Kenneth Heiner-Møller and had been working on a rolling contract. She led Canada to a gold medal at the 2021 Olympics, but the team was eliminated in the group stage of last year’s World Cup. She has coached the team to 28 wins, nine losses and 10 draws.
Priestman spent five years with the Canadian Soccer Association in a variety of coaching roles before returning in June 2018 to her native England, where she served as coach of the women’s under-18 team and assistant coach with the senior women’s team. Before that, she spent 4 1/2 years as head of football development in New Zealand before leaving in June 2013.
New Zealand, who lost to defending women's gold medalist Canada 2-1 in both teams' opening Olympic match Wednesday, complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week.
In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and Canada Soccer analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the Canadian Olympic Committee said Wednesday.
Priestman said Tuesday she was voluntarily removing herself from the opener "with the interests of both teams in mind and to ensure everyone feels that the sportsmanship of this game is upheld."
In a statement, Priestman also apologized to New Zealand.
"On behalf of our entire team, I first and foremost want to apologize to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada,' she said. 'This does not represent the values that our team stands for."
Assistant coach Andy Spence led Canada in the opener.
Priestman also spoke briefly in person to reporters after training.
"By no means did I direct the individuals," she said. "I’m still learning the details and obviously this is all unfolding. But again, I think the important thing right now is to look forward, put the actions in place and take the sanctions."
FIFA, soccer's international governing body, said its disciplinary committee had opened hearings against Canada Soccer, Priestman, Lombardi and Mander. Canada Soccer announced late Wednesday that it would conduct an independent review.
The COC confirmed Tuesday that a nonaccredited member of Canada’s soccer team staff was detained by French authorities after a drone was spotted above training.
A French court on Wednesday sentenced a 43-year-old Canadian man to an eight-month suspended sentence for filming two of New Zealand's closed training sessions with an aerial device.
The man, who was not named, admitted to the charges and identified himself an independent sports analyst for the Canadian federation, according to the Saint Etienne prosecutor David Charmatz.
The COC also apologized to the New Zealand Olympic Committee and New Zealand Football.
"The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair play and we are shocked and disappointed," the statement said. "We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee."
The NZOC said it and New Zealand Football "are committed to upholding the integrity and fairness of the Olympic Games — at this time the NZOC’s main priority is to support the New Zealand women’s football athletes and wider team as they start their campaign."
However, according to the TSN report, the use of drones to spy on opponents is a long-held pattern for Canada's men's and women's national teams.
Canada's men's team allegedly spied on the U.S. men's national team before a 2019 game in Florida, per the report. The USMNT won 4-1. At the time, the team was coached by John Herdman, who now coaches the MLS team Toronto FC. Herdman also coached the Canada women's national team from 2011-2018, leading it to two Olympic bronze medals, before taking over the men's side. The report also claims Canada women's team staffers spied on host nation Japan before a 1-1 draw in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in which Canada eventually won gold.
In a 2021 incident that was already public knowledge before Thursday, Honduras stopped a training session ahead of its men’s World Cup qualifier against Canada after spotting a drone above the field, according to reports in Honduran media. The teams played to a 1-1 draw.
The report does not contain any allegations of cheating during the Canada men's team's run to the Copa América semifinals, its first major tournament under American coach Jesse Marsch after Marsch assumed the reins of the team earlier this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
