Soccer News
With Priestman suspended, Canada’s spy surveillance shown to go beyond Paris Olympics
The Canada Soccer drone cheating scandal took a sharp turn off a cliff on Thursday when it was announced that head coach Bev Priestman would be leaving the Paris Olympics.
The 38-year-old Priestman had previously removed herself from coaching Canada’s opening match against New Zealand when multiple allegations of cheating came to light this week.
Priestman watched Canada’s 2-1 come-from-behind win over New Zealand from a hotel in Saint-Etienne, France. The Tokyo Olympic gold medal-winning coach will not be returning to the touchline for the remainder of Canada’s run at the Paris Olympics.
Assistant coach Andy Spence will continue to lead Canada.
Canada Soccer CEO & General Secretary Kevin Blue released the following statement on Thursday regarding Priestman and her suspension from Canada Soccer.
“Over the past 24 hours, additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer has made the decision to suspend Women’s National Soccer Team Head Coach, Bev Priestman for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and until the completion of our recently announced independent external review.”
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) fully supports Blue and Canada Soccer’s decision to remove Priestman from the Olympic games and they released their own statement.
“The Canadian Olympic Committee has removed the Canadian Women’s National Soccer Team Head Coach Bev Priestman from the Canadian Olympic Team due to her suspension by Canada Soccer. Assistant coach Andy Spence will lead the Women’s National Soccer Team for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”
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This developing story raises further questions regarding how long has Canada Soccer been using drones to spy on opponents, how many people were aware of this, and who gave it the green light.
All questions are of particular interest since Canada has won three consecutive Olympic medals with Priestman and former women’s national team head coach and current Toronto FC head coach, John Herdman at the helm.
A bombshell report from TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead has described several instances where Canada Soccer has had staff members who were instructed to use drone surveillance to spy on opponents both for the women’s and men’s national teams.
It has also been alleged that a Canada coach filmed not one but two of Japan’s closed training sessions at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics leading up to Canada’s 1-1 draw against Japan.
The report also stated that individuals hired on contract were told that taking film was in their job description and if they did not do this they could lose their job with the Canadian Soccer Association.
Westhead’s reporting specifically described a situation where an individual hired by Canada Soccer was set to travel to Australia for the World Cup last summer. Once their task, which included recording opposition sessions, was explained the individual relented. Their trip was subsequently canceled and someone else flew instead to carry out the task.
Canada Soccer’s use of drone surveillance to cheat and gain an advantage tarnishes the entire association. It brings into question whether or not Canada won Olympic gold in Tokyo on the merits of fair play and football or via a hovering assist from a drone.
Instead of fans celebrating Canada’s Group A win over the Football Ferns and goals from Cloe Lacasse and Evelyne Viens, the focus has been taken away from the athletes and it’s shifted to a scandal straight out of a Tom Clancy novel.
I’m Thomas Clark, from the ever-sunny Scottsdale, Arizona. At 47, my life’s not your usual nine-to-five grind; I’m the voice behind the screen at FC Soccer News. My days are a mix of passion and professionalism as I weave words for the love of the game. University of Arizona’s where I honed my skills, but the real education came from the hours spent in local cafes, my eyes glued to my laptop, and my mind playing the field.
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