Canada Soccer studying drone-spying review, says it shows past 'unacceptable culture'

More than three months after announcing an independent review into the Paris Olympics drone-spying scandal, Canada Soccer now has the document in hand.

And while it has yet to release the findings, Canada Soccer CEO and general secretary Kevin Blue lifted the lid slightly Friday on what is promising to be a larger can of worms.

"Our initial review of the conclusions of the independent investigator reveals that the drone incident in Paris was a symptom of a past pattern of an unacceptable culture and insufficient oversight within the national teams," Blue said in a short statement.

"While we are being thoughtful about how best to address the findings, we also want to move decisively. To that end, we will release key conclusions and next steps within a week.”

His statement follows earlier indications by Canada Soccer that suggested the Olympic scandal was not an isolated misstep.

Canada Soccer announced July 31 that it had retained Sonia Regenbogen from the law firm of Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark to handle the review of the Olympic incident "and subsequently, any related matters of a historic nature.”

Canada women’s coach Bev Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi are serving one-year FIFA suspensions in the wake of New Zealand’s Olympic Committee filing a complaint with the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit, alleging drones were flown over two pre-tournament practice sessions.

Priestman is still being paid by Canada Soccer pending the review — but her future is uncertain.

And more shoes could drop given the suggestion of past incidents of cheating.

A ruling by the FIFA Appeals Committee this summer cited an internal Canada Soccer email exchange that shows performance analyst Morgan Drew "resisting a request from Ms. Priestman to use drones for 'scouting purposes.'"

In another email, provided to FIFA by Canada Soccer, Priestman suggested the practice was commonplace in both the men's and women's teams.

The FIFA Appeals Committee ruling also put former Canada coach John Herdman at Ground Zero within Canada Soccer for spying on rival teams.

“Canada is investigating the history of this matter, but we suspect that the practice of using a drone stems back to John Herdman when he was the head coach of the women’s national team. In other words, this was a practice started by one person — John Herdman — and continued by Bev Priestman,” Canada Soccer said, according to the FIFA document.

Priestman was an assistant coach under Herdman.

Herdman, who has said he will co-operate with the review, has declined to publicly address such allegations, citing the “integrity of the investigation.”

But he has repeated that his record was clean at the Olympics and World Cups.

“I can again clarify that at a FIFA World Cup, pinnacle event, Olympic Games, at a Youth World Cup, those activities have not been undertaken,” he said in July. “And I’ve got nothing else to say on that matter.”

Herdman, now head coach of Toronto FC, led the Canadian women to two Olympic medals, winning bronze in 2012 and 2016, as well as the 2011 and 2015 Women’s World Cup. He also took the Canadian men to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Herdman took over the women's team in 2011 and switched to the Canadian men in January 2018. He quit Canada Soccer last August to take over TFC.

Assistant coach Andy Spence ran the women's team at the Olympics in Priestman’s absence and for a recent friendly against Spain. But Canada Soccer did not make him available to the media, electing to use guest coaches Diana Matheson and Katie Collar as spokeswomen.

Canada managed to reach the Olympic knockout round despite being docked six points for the spying scandal which also saw Canada Soccer fined 200,000 Swiss francs ($317,660).

The FIFA Appeals Committee ruling noted that its decision focused only on "drone incidents" that occurred at the Olympic football tournament.

"As the chairperson understands it, the (Canadian Soccer Association) is conducting its own broader investigation into spying," the ruling said. "In this respect, the chairperson expects the CSA to provide FIFA with the results of the said investigation in order for it to be able to assess and decide whether further action by the FIFA bodies is necessary and appropriate."

The defending champion Canadians, currently ranked sixth in the world, were eliminated in the Olympic quarterfinals by No. 4 Germany in a penalty shootout.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024