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After the long report on the Summer Olympic drone-spying scandal, Canada Soccer suspended women's head coach Bev Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander, and analyst Joey Lombardi. New Zealand had earlier filed a complaint about a drone flying above practices before the start of the Olympics, causing FIFA to fine Canada Soccer $228,000 and deduct six standings points. The international football governing body suspended Priestman, Mander, and Lombardi for a year.
In July, Priestman apologised for the drone issue and stated that, as team leader, she accepted responsibility and promised to fully cooperate with the investigation. Meanwhile Canada Soccer in its statement said, "The three individuals currently suspended by Fifa will not be returning. The search for a new head coach for the women’s national team will commence shortly.”
Past pattern of an unacceptable culture: Canada Soccer on drone scandal
On November 8, when responding to an independent inquiry into the issue, Canada Soccer stated that the matter was indicative of a "past pattern of an unacceptable culture," and on Tuesday, the group revealed its full response with insight details.
Among the summary results, it was discovered that two of the coaches had "directed acts of improper surveillance predating the 2024 Paris Olympics", while the assessment found "no evidence" of spying by Canada personnel at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where they won a historic gold medal. However, the review felt that the absence of such from Tokyo was just "likely due to the highly restrictive nature of the lockdowns related to Covid-19".
However, the report mentioned that allegations that the men's squad utilised drones to spy on an opponent during Copa America were baseless. But it discovered "potential violations" by former Canadian men's coach John Herdman, who was not interrogated due to schedule conflicts.
Report reviewers found in the report that, "some assistant coaches and staff members were uncomfortable with drone spying. However, they had no power to challenge the authority of the head coach. Canada Soccer in its summary said, "Potential violations of the Canada Soccer Code of Conduct and Ethics by the former head coach of the Men's National Team were identified. Under the Canada Soccer Disciplinary Code, a disciplinary process is being initiated to adjudicate these potential violations."
