Canada’s women’s soccer team faced controversy at the Paris Olympics when head coach Bev Priestman stepped down from her duties for the opening match after a spying scandal emerged. The incident involved a drone reportedly flown by Canadian staff over New Zealand’s training session, disrupting their preparations. This led to FIFA initiating disciplinary proceedings against Canada Soccer, Priestman, and the implicated staff members.
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) responded by removing two staff members from their Olympic squad, who were previously gold medalists at the Tokyo Games. Additionally, Priestman was sidelined from coaching the team in their upcoming match against New Zealand on Thursday.
“Joseph Lombardi, an unaccredited analyst with Canada Soccer, is being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and will be sent home immediately,” COC said in a statement.
“Jasmine Mander, an assistant coach to whom Mr. Lombardi reports to, is being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and will be sent home immediately.”
The fallout continued as a French court handed an eight-month suspended jail term to one of the staff members involved, identified as Lombardi, and confiscated the materials associated with the incident. FIFA announced that it had opened proceedings against Canada Soccer, Priestman, Lombardi, and another staff member, Mander, for a potential breach of the organization’s disciplinary code.
“The matter will be submitted for the consideration of the Disciplinary Committee in the next days,” FIFA said in a statement.
What Priestman said
Priestman apologized to the New Zealand football team and its staff and took responsibility for the incident.
“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. I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program.
“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.”
In response to the scandal, Canada Soccer stated it would conduct an independent external review. This investigation aims not only to understand the specific circumstances of the incident but also to examine the historical culture of competitive ethics across all its programs.
“Canada Soccer has always sought to prioritize integrity and fair competition, and we understand that competing with honesty is a baseline expectation for all Canadians,” Canada Soccer President Peter Augruso and CEO Kevin Blue said in a statement.
“We failed to meet those expectations in this case, and for that, we apologize.”
The incident had come to light after the New Zealand Olympic Committee had complained about Canada to the International Olympic Committee.