Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio says John Herdman’s decision to resign as head coach of Toronto FC is an “unfortunate situation.”
Herdman resigned on 29 November, saying “it is the right time to step down from the club as it defines its vision for the future”.
His departure was linked by many to Canada Soccer’s investigation into the drone spying scandal at the Paris Olympics that cost women’s coach Bev Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi their jobs in Canadian soccer.
All three now face one-year suspensions from FIFA, with Lombardi resigning from the Canadian soccer team shortly after the Olympics.
“I know John was very excited to take on the job. He really enjoyed being in Toronto in his first year,” Osorio said. “I’m sure this wasn’t an easy decision for him, but considering the circumstances and everything surrounding it, you can imagine it was a tough decision.
“And he felt he had to do what was best for him and probably think about what was best for the club as well. It’s an unfortunate situation overall.”
Osorio spoke after attending a PlayStation event on Friday where he watched the Canadian national team midfielder and fans try their luck at kicking a ball in the shape of a PlayStation controller button into the goal post in front of Princes Gate.
Herdman, a former Canadian women’s and men’s coach, has been linked to a culture of spies within Canadian soccer.
The fact that he had not spoken to Sonia Regenbogen, author of an independent review of the Olympic events and “all related matters of a historical nature”, added fuel to the fire when the report finally came out last month.
This summer, FIFA’s appeals committee ruled that Herdman had been sent to Canadian soccer’s Ground Zero to spy on a rival team.
“Canada is investigating the history of this matter, but we suspect the practice of using drones began when John Herdman was head coach of the women’s national team. In other words, it was a practice started by one person,” according to the FIFA document. continued John Herdman and Bev Priestman.
Herdman has said little publicly about the scandal.
“I want to make it clear once again that no such activity has taken place at the FIFA World Cup, top competitions, Olympic Games or Youth World Cups,” he said in July. “And I have nothing more to say on the matter.”
Osorio has been a gamer for a long time and says he still plays games, especially the EA Sports FC soccer franchise (formerly EA Sports FIFA).
“It’s been a big part of my life, and I remember thinking even a few years ago, with COVID-19, PlayStation has played a big part in a lot of people’s lives,” he said.
