GO DEEPER
Canada’s Olympic soccer spying scandal explained: What we know, who’s involved and what’s next
Following that win on Thursday, Priestman was suspended for the remainder of the Olympics by Canada Soccer after it emerged there had been drone usage before the Games. She has since been given a 12-month suspension by football’s governing body FIFA as part of sanctions that also included a six-point deduction from Canada’s group-stage total.
In a statement on Sunday, a “heartbroken” Priestman said she would cooperate with Canada Soccer’s investigation.
“As the leader of the team on the field, I want to take accountability, and I plan to fully cooperate with the investigation,” she said.
“I fought with every ounce of my being to make this program better, much of which will never be known or understood,” she said. “I wish I could say more, but I will refrain at this time, given the appeals process and the ongoing investigation.”
Canada Soccer chief executive Kevin Blue said he had received “new internal information” which led him to consider the spying attempts by the women’s team were not isolated incidents.
“The more I learn about this specific matter, the more concerned I get about a potential long-term, deeply-embedded systemic culture of this type of thing occurring, which is obviously completely unacceptable,” he said.
“I’ve been receiving a lot of anecdotal feedback about the history of the issue as it relates to both programs, as it relates to the current situation on the men’s team. I’m aware of an instance of attempted drone usage during Copa America. My current understanding is that the fact pattern of that instance is significantly different than what occurred here, especially as it relates to the potential impact on competitive integrity.”
Blue said men’s national team coach Jesse Marsch learned about the spying attempts during the Copa America, where Canada outperformed expectations and reached the semi-finals.
“He explained to me that he denounced it immediately and forcefully, and has communicated that to his staff, both the existing staff and staff that were from previous coaching staffs that are still with us,” Blue added. Marsch has been approached for comment.
Canada Soccer is now conducting an internal review to understand these situations and whether others may exist, Blue confirmed. He insisted multiple times that Canada’s players have not been involved in any “unethical behavior”, and said he thought a points deduction at the Olympics would be unfair.
Following Wednesday’s news of a second drone incident involving the Canada women’s side at the Olympics, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) said Joseph Lombardi, an “unaccredited analyst,” and Jasmine Mander, a coach who oversees Lombardi, had been removed from the team and sent home.
Canada kept their medal hopes alive on Sunday evening with a dramatic 2-1 victory over hosts France, with Vanessa Gilles scoring 12 minutes into stoppage time to seal a 2-1 victory.
Canada take on Colombia on Wednesday evening with their hopes of reaching the knockout stages still alive.
GO DEEPER
A history of spying in football: Drones, interns at training and kit men in ceilings
(Top photo: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
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Publish date : 2024-07-29 04:55:00
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