Canada Women's Soccer Coach Fired Over Olympic Drone Spying Scandal

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Facts

  • Canada Soccer terminated its women's head coach Bev Priestman and two staff members following an independent investigation that confirmed their reported involvement in using drones to spy on opponents, including at the 2024 Paris Olympics.[1]
  • The scandal emerged when New Zealand defender Rebekah Stott spotted a drone during training in Saint-Etienne, France, prompting FIFA to fine Canada Soccer $228K.[2][3]
  • The investigation revealed an alleged years-long systematic pattern of surveillance predating the Paris Olympics, though no evidence was found of drone usage during Canada's gold-medal run at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.[4]
  • Besides the fine, that scandal resulted in FIFA suspending Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander, and analyst Joseph Lombardi for one year, as well as deducting six points from Canada's Olympic standings.[5]
  • The independent review also found that while the assistant coaches felt uncomfortable with the spying operations, they also felt that they couldn't 'challenge the authority of the head coach.'[4]
  • John Herdman, former men's and women's national team coach, also faces potential disciplinary proceedings as FIFA alleges the drone spying scheme began during his tenure from 2011-2018. He reportedly taught Priestman the drone techniques while she was the coach of the under-17 team.[6][1]

Sources: [1]CBS, [2]Stuff, [3]Associated Press, [4]Guardian, [5]FOX News and [6]The Globe and Mail.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The Globe and Mail. Using a drone to surveil another team during a closed practice is cheating and undermines the integrity of the game. The drone incident represents a past pattern of unacceptable culture and insufficient oversight that requires urgent reform within the national teams, necessitating immediate leadership changes to restore integrity to the program.
  • Narrative B, as provided by CBC. Priestman's sacking is unfair, as the review found no evidence that Canadian players had viewed footage from the drone. The investigation's limited scope in examining past tournaments and administrators shows that Priestman has been made a scapegoat to cover up for a systematic, years-long spying operation.