Canada Soccer head investigating 'systemic ethical shortcoming'

SAINT-ETIENNE, France — Blue skies, bright sunshine and a comforting breeze made for an ideal sightseeing day in scenic Saint-Etienne, a city of about 170,000 in east-central France.

The Canadian women's soccer team would have been well-served to take advantage of it on their off-day Friday. It would be one way to temporarily escape the noise from a spying scandal that has rocked the Canada Soccer program at the Paris Games.

Since news broke this week that a drone was used to record two New Zealand team practices, three members of the Canadian coaching staff have left the team -- including now-suspended head coach Bev Priestman -- as the shadow grows larger over the reigning Olympic champions.

Canada Soccer chief executive officer Kevin Blue said he had received "anecdotal feedback" about the history of drone usage within the program and was investigating a potential "systemic ethical shortcoming."

He added that he has not considered pulling the team from the Games, primarily because "we feel like we have addressed the situation swiftly and significantly."

"It would be to the detriment of our players who have worked so hard and sacrificed quite a bit to be Olympians and (they) have not engaged in unethical behaviour," Blue said. "I will not consider us withdrawing on the basis of the fact that we support our players as Olympians and their right to be here and their right to compete."

The distractions have kept coming for the eighth-ranked Canadian squad.

While the players were practising on the eve of the competition, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced that an assistant coach and team analyst had been sent home. Priestman, who guided the team in the workout, removed herself from coaching in Thursday's opener, a nervy 2-1 win over 28th-ranked New Zealand.

Just hours after the victory, another COC statement confirmed that Priestman was suspended for the remainder of the Olympics and until an external review was complete.

In the release, Canada Soccer cited additional information it had learned regarding previous drone use pre-dating the Paris Games. COC CEO David Shoemaker said Priestman was likely aware drones were used to spy on the opposing team's training sessions in France.

"One of the key pieces of information was the conclusion from Canada Soccer that she needed to be suspended, based on their accumulation of facts," he said Friday morning at Canada Olympic House.

"I've seen some of them, some of the information they have, and we've gathered some additional information ourselves that made me conclude that she was highly likely to have been aware of the incident here in Saint-Etienne."

After the team's final training session, Priestman told The Canadian Press that she didn't direct individuals to spy on New Zealand and was "highly disappointed" to learn of it.

Assistant coach Andy Spence will continue as the team's acting head coach at the Olympics, the COC said.

A sourced TSN report said that the Canadian program has relied on drones and spying for years, including before a game against host Japan at the last Summer Games.

"There now appears to be information that could tarnish that Olympic performance in Tokyo," Shoemaker said. "It makes me ill.

"It makes me sick to my stomach to think that there could be something that calls into question … one of my favourite Olympic moments in history, that women's team winning that gold medal against all odds in COVID restrictions."

The Canadian women's team has made three straight Olympic podium appearances at the Summer Games, with Priestman leading the side to gold three years ago.

"Certainly what was reported is again, if accurate, is an alarming indication of a significant problem," Blue said. "But it's our responsibility to make sure to pursue what's reported in there, in addition to other information, to substantiate specifically what actually happened."

Earlier in the week, FIFA's disciplinary committee said it was looking into the drone matter but there was no word on if or when possible sanctions might be announced. It also remained unclear whether past results might be impacted.

The IOC referred an emailed question on the subject to FIFA, which referred to its original statement and said any further updates or details "would be communicated in due course."

A follow-up email to FIFA wasn't immediately returned. The IOC media relations team later replied that it can't comment on speculation.

The New Zealand Olympic Committee has registered a complaint with the IOC's integrity unit and asked Canada for a full review.

Shoemaker acknowledged the scandal impacted Canada's image to start the Paris Games, but hoped it wouldn't detract from what is expected to be a strong performance by the team as a whole.

"Subsequent findings involving individuals at Canada Soccer have been not only incredibly disturbing, but also all encompassing for us these last few days," said COC president Tricia Smith, a four-time Olympian in rowing.

"What we saw this week is not my experience of sport in Canada. It's not who we are."

Soccer's misconduct overshadowed both the COC's announcement Wednesday of flag-bearers Maude Charron and Andre De Grasse for the opening ceremonies, and also Friday's ribbon-cutting to open Canada Olympic House.

"It's sad. It's surprising," said Charron, who won Olympic weightlifting gold in Tokyo. "In my sport, we're doing a lot of work to stay true and play fair. Every sport has different technique to do or different strategies. My job here as an athlete stays the same.

"I guess it stresses more a bit the athletes in soccer. But I can't talk for them. I can only talk for me."

Canada will play host France on Sunday at Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium before closing out Group A play Wednesday against Colombia at Nice.

— With files from Gemma Karstens-Smith and Donna Spencer in Paris.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2024.

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