Canada Soccer have released a statement after two staff were sent home following allegations of spying with a drone on opponents.
The Women’s team face New Zealand on Thursday, and will now have to play without head coach Bev Priestman.
“As the leaders of Canada Soccer, we want to express our unequivocal disapproval of the actions taken by members of our Women’s National Team staff at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” read the press release.
“On behalf of our Federation, we offer our sincere apologies to the impacted players, coaches, and officials.
“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. We failed to meet those expectations in this case, and for that, we apologize.
“As an immediate next step, Canada Soccer will proceed with an independent external review. This review will address the circumstances of the current matter, and more broadly, will seek to understand the historical culture of competitive ethics within all of our programs. The outcome of this review will be shared publicly and corrective actions, if necessary, will be taken.
“We will maintain prompt and transparent communication on this matter.”
Canada Soccer analyst Joseph Lombardi has admitted to using the drone to gain information from New Zealand’s training sessions.
Canada Soccer,independent investigation,Women’s National Team,Canada,New Zealand
