According to emails released by FIFA, using drones for surveillance may have been a common practice for the Canadian national soccer team.
The FIFA released a document dated July 28 detailing the penalties imposed on national federations after analysts were caught operating a drone to monitor New Zealand’s practice ahead of the Olympic opening match on July 25. Canada won the match 2-1.
The document includes an internal message from women’s coach Bev Priestman on March 20 regarding “Spy”. All edits were done by FIFA.
“Analysts have always done this, and I know there’s a whole lot of work being done on the male side in this regard (I recently worked with (deleted) and he’s been great in this area)” is the message.
“When we discussed it in the meeting yesterday, I asked (redacted) to come up with an alternative solution that would (sic) make or break the scouting. And every top 10 team does that.”
New redacted emails from suspended head coach Bev Priestman suggest drone surveillance may have been a routine practice, with one message saying “every top 10 team does it.” The revelation comes as the Canadian women’s team advanced to the Olympic knockout stage with a win over Colombia.
The sanctions against Canada Soccer included a six-point penalty, which the federation appealed. The Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the appeal on Wednesday.
“We are disappointed with today’s appeal decision and continue to believe that our players should not be unnecessarily punished for actions that were not their own,” the Canadian Soccer Association said in a statement.
Regarding its own investigation, the federation said it would “initiate a review focused on the actions taken by the Canadian Soccer team in relation to the incident that occurred at the Olympic Games.”
Additionally, Priestman, head coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi were all sent home from the Olympics by the Canadian Olympic Committee following the New Zealand revelations, and FIFA later suspended all three from soccer activities for a year. Canada Soccer did not appeal those punishments.
Priestman sent the email after being contacted by a performance analyst who said he “didn’t want to be involved” in “spying activities.”
In that message, the analyst listed three main reasons for opposing the practice: “morally; my reputation in the analytics field; (and) the possibility of not being able to do my job on game day.”
Priestman’s email, which was released with the recipients redacted in a FIFA press release, was “seeking advice” on the analyst’s refusal to follow the practice.
“I received this ‘official’ email this morning, (sic) shortly after being given guidance on what I could do from an HR perspective or if I should look for other solutions in resourcing. It’s a tricky issue and I think it’s official for a reason…” Priestman wrote.
‘Stem Back’ Practice
In a July 27 letter to FIFA, the Canadian Soccer Association, which has launched an independent review of the organization’s oversight, said the practice was “returning.”
“That is, this was a practice started by one person (deleted) and carried on by Bev Priestman.”
CBC News has identified the “one person” as John Herdman, former coach of the women’s and men’s national teams.
Priestman was hired as head coach in 2020 and led the team to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She succeeds Kenneth Heiner-Moller, who led the team from 2011 to 2018 and had a brief two-year tenure.
Herdman denied any involvement in the drone use at a July 26 press conference, and reaffirmed his stance at a TFC practice in Toronto on Wednesday.
“I can once again state unequivocally that no such activity took place at a FIFA World Cup, a top event, an Olympic Games or a Youth World Cup,” he said, adding that he would cooperate with Canada Soccer’s investigation. “And I have nothing further to say on that matter.”
TFC said on Wednesday it would “not comment until the review is complete.”
Players leaning on each other
After beating New Zealand, the Canadians came from behind to win 2-1 against France, Vanessa Gilles scoring in the 101st minute to complete the win.
Canada now needs to beat No. 22 Colombia in Nice on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET to advance to the quarterfinals. Failure to do so will result in the team being eliminated from the tournament.
“We didn’t sleep for three days. We didn’t eat. We cried. I don’t want to say it was an ideal performance situation. But we held on to each other and we had nothing to lose,” said a tearful Gilles after the France game.
“So what energizes us is each other, our determination, our pride in proving people wrong, our pride in representing this country in a time when there’s all this bullshit about our values ​​and representation as Canadians.
“We’re not. We’re not cheaters. We’re a tremendous player. We’re a tremendous team. We’re a tremendous group. And we proved that today.”
FIFA also said the sanctions were a direct response to an incident in which a drone was intercepted during a training session in New Zealand.
The Canadian Soccer Association said it “should provide the findings of that investigation to FIFA so that FIFA can assess and determine whether further action is necessary and appropriate.”
