Canada coach backs away after drone spied on New Zealand soccer team training

Beverley Priestman, head coach of the Canadian women’s soccer team, voluntarily resigned Wednesday as a result of the spying scandal. He will not be on the bench for Canada’s opener against New Zealand. On Monday, the Canadian delegation sent a drone to fly over two closed New Zealand training sessions in Saint-Etienne, allegedly spying on the opposition. Meanwhile, Olympic champion Canada’s assistant coach and team analyst have been permanently banned from the Paris Games.

Following the incident, a French court on Wednesday handed down an eight-month suspended prison sentence to a 43-year-old Canadian man who worked as an independent investigator for the Canadian delegation for filming the closed-door training sessions.

Coach Priestman expressed his desire to skip the opener, citing “both teams’ interests in mind.” He wants to give all parties the feeling that “the sportsmanship of this game is respected.” According to Priestman, who will be replaced by current assistant Andy Spencer, the incident is not in line with “the values ​​that our team stands for”.

Meanwhile, New Zealand president Andrew Bracknell is demanding further action from soccer’s world governing body FIFA, which will hold its disciplinary committee’s inquiries into the issue. If action is not taken, it will affect the sporting integrity of the entire competition, says Bracknell. The New Zealand delegation previously lodged a complaint with the International Olympic Committee’s Integrity Unit.

To share





Email the editor