Canadian soccer coach Priestman to miss Olympic opener after staffers alleged to have spied on opponent

Canadian women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman removed herself from Thursday’s Olympic Games opener against New Zealand and two team staff members were sent home after two drone incidents.

Assistant coach Jasmine Mander and Canada Soccer analyst Joseph Lombardi were ousted from the soccer team’s staff, the Canadian Olympic Committee said Wednesday in a statement in which it accepted Priestman’s decision to not coach the opener in Saint-Etienne, France.

The shakeup came after the COC’s review of drone incidents in Saint-Etienne. There were reports that drones flew over New Zealand’s practice sessions both Monday and last Friday.

“I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program,” Priestman said in Wednesday’s statement. “Accordingly, to emphasize our team’s commitment to integrity, I have decided to voluntarily withdraw from coaching the match on Thursday. In the spirit of accountability, I do this with the interests of both teams in mind and to ensure everyone feels that the sportsmanship of this game is upheld.”

“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. This does not represent the values that our team stands for.”

The COC also said that Canada Soccer staff will be required to undergo mandatory ethics training.

National team assistant coach Andy Spence will lead Canada against New Zealand, Priestman confirmed to reporters on Wednesday. Spence was with the team last year at the World Cup.

The match begins at 11 a.m. ET and will be carried live on CBC TV, including live stream coverage on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. 

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Canada is the defending Olympic champion in women’s soccer after capturing gold three years ago in Tokyo. New Zealand is ranked 28th in the world.

New Zealand’s Olympic Committee alerted police after a drone was flown over the women’s soccer team practice Monday, and the COC confirmed Tuesday that a “non-accredited” member of Canada’s soccer team staff was detained by French authorities.

COC ‘shocked and disappointed’

The NZOC also registered a complaint with the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit and had asked Canada for a full review.

The COC apologized to the NZOC and that country’s soccer federation, stating it was “shocked and disappointed” over the conduct. 

Carla Qualtrough, Canada’s Minister of Sport who is in France for the start of the Games, said she supports Priestman’s decision to sit out the opener.

“When rules are broken, there must be consequences,” Qualtrough said. “I support the sanctions being imposed by the Canadian Olympic Committee, their apologies to New Zealand, and the decision of head coach Bev Priestman.”

It’s not the first time a Canadian soccer team has been involved in a drone controversy involving an international rival’s training session.

In 2021 at Toronto, 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.

French security forces guarding Paris 2024 sites are intercepting an average of six drones per day, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Tuesday.

Attal added the drones are often operated by “individuals, maybe tourists wanting to take pictures.”

“That’s why it’s important to remind people of the rules. There’s a ban on flying drones,” he said, according to multiple news outlets.

“Systems are in place to allow us to very quickly intercept [drones] and arrest their operators.”