Bev Priestman’s run at the Paris Olympics ended before the opening ceremony.
The Canadian Soccer Association has suspended the women’s national team coach until after the Olympics amid a drone surveillance scandal.
The Canadian Olympic Committee added in a statement released just before 1:30 a.m. local time on Friday that head coach Andy Spence will lead the gold-medal-winning team for the remainder of the Games.
Team Canada was thrown into disarray this week after two team staff members were sent home after being accused of using drones to spy on New Zealand’s practices.
Priestman has denied any involvement but did not attend Thursday’s 2-1 win over New Zealand in Saint-Etienne while FIFA (soccer’s global governing body) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) investigate.
The Canadian Soccer Association has suspended national women’s soccer team coach Bev Priestman amid allegations she used drones to spy on opposing teams ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“Additional information regarding the use of drones against opposing teams has been brought to our attention prior to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” Canada Soccer CEO and Secretary General Kevin Blue said in a statement announcing Priestman’s dismissal.
He added that Priestman will be suspended until the tournament ends and until an independent, external review of the organization is completed.
The COC said on Wednesday that head coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi were “sent home immediately” and that it had accepted Priestman’s decision to step down as opening-day coach.
Priestman, who took over as head coach of the Canadian women’s national team on November 1, 2020, previously signed a consecutive contract, then in January extended her contract through the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
She coached the team for an hour at the Stade Auguste Dury on Wednesday before holding a brief media meeting with reporters.
“My reaction was that I felt like this program was failing the country,” Priestman said. “So I took proactive steps to do what I thought was the right thing to do. Regardless of the specifics, ultimately, I am responsible.”
FIFA said its disciplinary committee had begun proceedings against the three individuals and the Canadian Soccer Association.
Evelyn Viens scored the winner in the 79th minute as the Olympic champions secured a 2-1 win over New Zealand.
Priestman, 38, was an assistant coach to John Herdman, the women’s national team coach and current Toronto FC coach. She also worked with Herdman when he led the New Zealand women’s program.
Eighth-ranked Canada faces second-place France in Saint-Etienne on Sunday and Colombia in Nice on Wednesday.
COC Chief Executive David Shoemaker said in a video conference Wednesday that the organization believes the sanctions imposed to that point were appropriate and “at least mitigate any advantage Canada has had or may have had over New Zealand.”
New Zealand Herald soccer reporter Michael Burgess, who first broke the ‘Dronegate’ story, joins CBC News Network to discuss the FIFA disciplinary committee’s opening proceedings against Canadian soccer.
Shoemaker added that additional objections to Priestman were considered at the time.
“Ultimately, the drone footage ended up in the hands of the drone pilot, and it didn’t have the benefit I intended — at least not that we could see,” he said.
“I was convinced that Bev Priestman had no involvement in the incident and had no knowledge of it. I removed the people directly involved in the incident from Team Canada.”
Shoemaker said in a phone call that he believes Priestman was not involved, given her denials.
“(That) is my assessment of the truth of that statement,” he said. “If facts arise in the future that suggest otherwise, we reserve the right to impose additional sanctions.”
That’s exactly what happened in Paris early Friday morning.
Canadian Olympic Committee CEO David Shoemaker addresses reporters in Paris about allegations that the Canadian Soccer Association used drones to spy on New Zealand soccer practices.
