if anyone wants to speak about pks. i studied HARD the night before every match. Watched video of players taking pks in national team and club games. Made my own educated guesses based on that info. NO DRONE FOOTAGE was watched. Do not confuse great goalkeeping with cheating.
— Stephanie Labbé (@stephlabbe1) July 26, 2024
Ultimately, while players were likely entirely unaware of this systemic use of surveillance, they unwittingly benefited from it — and it’s the same reason why FIFA is investigating Canada on fair play grounds.
It was unfair to Canada’s players if they received an advantage from the program, and it was unfair to their opponents at the same time. The players are not at fault, but they have been drawn into this either way.
Who was punished and how?
In addition to Priestman, Lombardi and Jasmine Mander, an assistant coach who oversees Lombardi, were sent home from the Olympics.
Without naming him, a Saint-Étienne prosecutor said a 43-year-old Canadian man received an eight-month suspended sentence in French court for filming the two training sessions, according to the Associated Press.
On Wednesday, COC CEO David Shoemaker said that they had offered legal support and consular services to both Lombardi and Mander, as well as offering mental health support to the entirety of Canada’s Olympic delegation.
Priestman had said Tuesday she would remove herself from managing the team during Thursday’s game against New Zealand, while Shoemaker clarified Wednesday that she would remain in her role as coach for the rest of the tournament.
“We thought about all repercussions for Bev,” Shoemaker said ahead of Friday’s decision. “At the end of the day, the drone footage related to the filming of two New Zealand practices remained in the hands of the pilot of the drone.”
“I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program,” Priestman said before her removal. “Accordingly, to emphasize our team’s commitment to integrity, I have decided to voluntarily withdraw from coaching the match on Thursday. In the spirit of accountability, I do this with the interests of both teams in mind and to ensure everyone feels that the sportsmanship of this game is upheld.”
The decision was then taken out of Priestman’s hands when FIFA gave her a one-year ban.
Who is Bev Priestman?
The 37-year-old has been with Canada Soccer as the women’s national team head coach since October 2020, departing her previous role as an assistant coach with England. She guided Canada to their gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The team underperformed at the 2023 World Cup, exiting in the group stage.
Earlier this year, she signed a contract extension with Canada Soccer to keep her in the role through the 2027 World Cup.
GO DEEPER
Bev Priestman, the Canada coach at the centre of the Olympics spying scandal
Who are Jesse Marsch and John Herdman?
Marsch has been the coach of Canada’s men’s team since May, becoming the first American to coach Canada. He oversaw the team during the 2024 Copa América, during which Canada advanced out of Group A and reached the semifinals, where they fell to eventual champion Argentina. Marsch has been linked to the open coach job for the U.S., but said he had no interest.
John Herdman was both Priestman’s and Marsch’s predecessor, as Herdman coached Canada’s women’s team from 2011 to 2018 and then coached the men’s team from 2018 to 2023. The women’s team was coached from 2018 to 2020 by Kenneth Heiner-Møller, another assistant to Herdman, before Priestman was hired.
Herdman also served as men’s national director starting in 2021 and led the men’s team to its first World Cup in 36 years in 2022.
Herdman’s connection with Priestman goes back decades, as Herdman was her youth futsal coach when Priestman was 12. Herdman also oversaw Priestman when she coached Canada’s U17 and U20 women’s teams from 2013 to 2018.
Prior to coaching Canada, Herdman was coach of New Zealand’s women’s national team from 2006 to 2011, guiding the team to Women’s World Cups in 2007 and 2011, as well as the 2008 Olympics.
On Friday, Herdman — now in charge at Toronto in MLS — said of the spying controversy: “I’ll help Canada Soccer where I can with that review, but I’m highly confident that in my time as a head coach at an Olympic Games or World Cup, we’ve never been involved in any of those activities.”
What’s the French law about drones?
Due to strict European regulations that have been in place since 2021, drone hobbyists are barred from flying the aircrafts over people and can not share images or recordings without the other party’s consent.
Drones have been a story across the Paris Games, with French prime minister Gabriel Attal saying last Tuesday that an average of six drones per day have been intercepted at Olympic sites, mostly from tourists trying to capture footage of the spectacle.
Teams were given guidance that use of drones in any capacity, including to record their own training sessions for internal video reviews, was forbidden according to a source with knowledge of Olympic football protocols that was not authorized to speak on record.
What are some other notable sports cheating incidents?
New England Patriots: The Patriots were accused by the New York Jets in 2007 of videotaping the Jets’ defensive signals using team cameras in unauthorized locations in a scandal dubbed “Spygate.” The NFL docked New England a first-round pick and fined coach Bill Belichick $500,000.
Houston Astros: The Astros were involved in a sign-stealing scandal that resulted in team members being disciplined for illegally using cameras to steal signs from opposing teams in 2017 and 2018. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich’s reporting, the team used a camera in center field to pick up the pitcher’s signal from the catcher, and relayed that to batters with various cues, including banging on a trash can.
Michigan football: A Michigan sign-stealing scandal dominated college football headlines in 2023. Michigan was accused of physically sending people to games of its opponents with the intent of collecting strategic information that the Michigan football program would otherwise not have access to, such as signals and play calls that are not shown on the TV broadcast or in other game film.
2014 World Cup: As France prepared to face Brazil at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, France men’s manager Didier Deschamps reported a sighting of a drone above their practice. It was never discovered who it belonged to.
(Top photo of Bev Priestman: Omar Vega / Getty Images)
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Publish date : 2024-07-31 10:11:00
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