Canada head coach Bev Priestman will be absent from her team’s opening Paris 2024 Olympic women’s football match against New Zealand after a drone scandal.
The Canadian Olympic Committtee (COC) conducted a review into claims from New Zealand Football that a drone was flown over their training session on Monday, July 22.
A statement from the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) said the incident was immediately reported to the police, leading to the detention of the drone operator, who was identified as a support staff member for Canada’s women’s football team.
The review, which also found evidence of another drone incident on Friday, July 19, resulted in the removal of assistant coach Jasmine Mander and unaccredited analyst Joseph Lombardi from the Canadian Olympic team.
The COC also accepted the decision of Priestman to step back from coaching duties for the match against New Zealand on Thursday, while Canada Soccer staff will undergo mandatory ethics training.
Priestman, who has been Canada’s head coach since 2020, has issued an apology.
“On behalf of our entire team, I first and foremost want to apologise to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada,” she said. “This does not represent the values that our team stands for.
“I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our programme. Accordingly, to emphasise 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 COC had also issued an apology, saying: “The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair-play and we are shocked and disappointed. We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee.”
This may not be the end of the matter, as the COC has said it will continue to review the situation and may take further action if necessary.
Canada clinched their first women’s football Olympic gold medal after beating Sweden in a penalty shoot-out in the Tokyo 2020 final.
Their title defence starts against New Zealand, with France and Colombia also in Group A.
