Head coach of the Canada women’s team, Bev Priestman, has been suspended from her duties for the remainder of the Olympics pending the ongoing investigations into their ‘use of drones’.
Canada defeated New Zealand 2-1 on Thursday to kick off Group A play in the Paris games though it was anything but routine. Before the match, New Zealand accused their opponents of using drones to spy on their training sessions ahead of the match.
As a result, two staff members were removed from their positions, Joseph Lombardi, an analyst with the team, and Jasmine Mander, an assistant coach, though Priestman has now joined those staffers in packing bags.
In a staggering turn of events, TSN have reported that both the Canada Soccer have been allegedly ‘relying on drones and spying’ for years.
Canada allegedly used this strategy during the women’s gold-medal winning Olympic tournament in 2021, plus at least one training session before a women’s national team game against Panama in July 2022.
Canada Soccer will reportedly conduct an ‘independent external review’ of the incident, while FIFA has launched ‘disciplinary proceedings’ of their own.
In a statement announcing Bev Priestman’s suspension, Canada Soccer CEO and general secretary Kevin Blue said, “Additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer has made the decision to suspend Women’s National Soccer Team Head Coach, Bev Priestman for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and until the completion of our recently announced independent external review.”
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