Canada Women's National Team Coach Dismissed From Olympics Amid Drone Scandal

Karl Rasmussen | Jul 25, 2024

Women's Canadian National team head coach Bev Priestman reacts on the side of the pitch. / Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

The Canadian Olympic Committee announced Thursday that it made the decision to dismiss women's national soccer team coach Bev Priestman from the Olympic squad.

Priestman's dismissal comes on the heels of the ongoing scandal surrounding the use of drones to spy on opponents from both the Canadian men's and women's squads.

"Over the past 24 hours, additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the 2024 Paris Olympic Games," Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue said in a statement. "In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer has made the decision to suspend Women's National Team Head Coach, Bev Priestman for the remainder of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and until the completion of our recently announced independent review."

On Tuesday, two staff members from Canada's women's national soccer team were sent home from the Paris Olympics following an investigation into the alleged improper use of drones. Earlier this week, ahead of Canada's match against New Zealand, a drone was seen flying over the New Zealand squad's practice.

The drone was reported to French authorities, who connected it to an analyst for Canada Soccer. The analyst, Joseph Lombardi, and assistant coach Jasmine Mander were sent home as a result.

A report from TSN on Thursday states that Canada has used drones for illegal espionage of opponents "for years," including ahead of their run to Olympic gold at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. The women's team also was caught filming Panama's practice ahead of a World Cup qualifying matchup in 2022, which prompted the Panamanian Football Federation to file a complaint to Canada Soccer and CONCACAF.

"On behalf of our entire team, I first and foremost want to apologize to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada," Priestman in a statement Wednesday, one day prior to her dismissal. "This does not represent the values that our team stands for. I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program. 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."

Priestman has been head coach of Canada's women's national team since 2020. She's married to Emma Humphries, a former New Zealand women's national soccer team midfielder.

Assistant coach Andy Spence will serve in her place as coach for the Olympic Games as the investigation into Priestman carries on.