Canadian women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman removed herself from Thursday’s Olympic Games opener against New Zealand and two team staff members were sent home after two drone incidents.
Assistant coach Jasmine Mander and Canada Soccer analyst Joseph Lombardi were ousted from the soccer team’s staff, the Canadian Olympic Committee said Wednesday in a statement in which it accepted Priestman’s decision to not coach the opener in Saint-Etienne, France.
The shakeup came after the COC’s review of a drone incidents in Saint-Etienne. There were reports that drones flew over New Zealand’s practice sessions both Monday and last Friday.
“First of all I’d like to apologize,” Priestman told CBC Olympics after the announcement. “As the leader of this program, I’m ultimately accountable. Personally, It’s really important to me to take this moment to show strong leadership and to represent the values of this country, the team and myself. I’ve done that because I really care about sportsmanship, integrity and to be honest the players who are taking the field.”
It was later announced that assistant coach Andy Spence will assume head-coaching duties for Thursday’s opener, per Ben Steiner of CBC Olympics. Spence is a former head coach of Everton’s women’s team.
The COC also said that Canada Soccer staff will be required to undergo mandatory ethics training.
Canada is the defending Olympic champion in women’s soccer after capturing gold three years ago in Tokyo. New Zealand is ranked 28th in the world.
“I would just like to apologize to our country but also to New Zealand,” Priestman said. “There’s details regarding this moment and those don’t necessarily sit directly with me but ultimately I am accountable for any action that happens inside of this camp and for that matter, I think it was really important to step back.”
New Zealand’s Olympic Committee alerted police after a drone was flown over the women’s soccer team practice Monday, and the COC confirmed Tuesday that a “non-accredited” member of Canada’s soccer team staff was detained by French authorities.
The NZOC also registered a complaint with the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit and had asked Canada for a full review.
The COC apologized to the NZOC and that country’s soccer federation, stating it was “shocked and disappointed” over the conduct.
It’s not the first time a Canadian soccer team has been involved in a drone controversy involving an international rival’s training session.
In 2021 at Toronto, Honduras stopped a training session ahead of its men’s World Cup qualifier against Canada after spotting a drone above the field, according to reports in Honduran media. The teams played to a 1-1 draw.
French security forces guarding Paris 2024 sites are intercepting an average of six drones per day, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Tuesday.
Attal added the drones are often operated by “individuals, maybe tourists wanting to take pictures.”
“That’s why it’s important to remind people of the rules. There’s a ban on flying drones,” he said, according to multiple news outlets.
“Systems are in place to allow us to very quickly intercept (drones) and arrest their operators.”
