Canada coach Priestman suspended, spying reportedly ongoing for 'years'

Canada women's team head coach Bev Priestman was sent home from the Paris Games by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) on Thursday after Canada Soccer suspended her amid a scandal involving drones to spy on opponents' training sessions.

COC CEO David Shoemaker confirmed Friday the committee had "gathered additional information" that allowed him to conclude Priestman was "highly likely to have been aware" of drone use in France.

Canada, the reigning gold medalist in Olympic women's soccer, became embroiled in controversy this week when the COC removed two staff members from the Games after they allegedly tried to film multiple closed-door New Zealand practices in the buildup to Thursday's meeting between the teams.

The two staff members, Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander, were sent home from France, and FIFA's Disciplinary Committee opened proceedings.

Priestman voluntarily removed herself from Canada's Olympic opener, an eventual 2-1 victory in Saint-Etienne, "in the spirit of accountability." The 38-year-old coach denied directing the use of a drone, saying the tactic "does not represent the values that our team stands for."

However, Rick Westhead of TSN, citing sources with "first-hand knowledge" of similar activity, reported Thursday that the use of drones to spy on opponents has been employed by the Canadian men's and women's teams for "years," including during the latter's gold-medal-winning performance at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

"Over the past 24 hours, additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games," Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue said in a statement.

Blue said Priestman will be suspended until an independent external review of the matter is completed. Canada Soccer said the investigation's findings will be made public.

Assistant coach Andy Spence, who oversaw Canada's comeback win over New Zealand in Priestman's absence, will lead the squad for the remainder of the Paris Games.

Canada's nefarious tactics date back to at least 2019 and include multiple matches, Westhead adds. Opponents potentially impacted in 2022 on the women's side reportedly include Panama, Costa Rica, South Korea, and Trinidad and Tobago. A Canadian coach also filmed two of Japan's closed-door training sessions ahead of the team's 1-1 draw with the host nation at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, per Westhead.

"You get to know their formations, their starting lineup," a source told Westhead. "You also look at who is taking a penalty kick and their set pieces."

One of the sources explained that the pandemic-related restrictions during the Tokyo Olympics made things "a little bit tricky," but after sneaking out of the team hotel, those tasked with spying could use bushes, fences, or trees to remain hidden.

Members of the coaching staff and various contractors working for the Canadian national teams were told that filming training sessions was part of their job and that they could be removed from their positions if they didn't agree to do it, according to Westhead.

Some reportedly expressed to colleagues that the practice made them uncomfortable.

The men's team has also previously been questioned about surveillance, most notably in 2021 when Honduras claimed to have spotted a drone and halted a training session in Toronto ahead of a World Cup qualifier. John Herdman, then Canada's men's coach, downplayed the incident at the time.

Priestman was an assistant with her compatriot Herdman when he led the women's program.

"Most people see this as cheating, which it is," one of the sources told Westhead of the spying. "Some of our coaches just see it as a competitive advantage and justify it by saying everyone does it, which is also not true. Not everyone cheats, and neither should we."