Olympic Coach Fired Before Opening Ceremony

Canadian women's soccer Olympic head coach Bev Priestman was fired following allegations of using a drone to spy on opponents hours after the team's 2024 Paris Olympics pre-Opening Ceremony match, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced Thursday (July 25).

“Over the past 24 hours, additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games," Canada Soccer CEO & General Secretary Kevin Blue said in an official statement. "In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer has made the decision to suspend Women’s National Soccer Team Head Coach, Bev Priestman for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and until the completion of our recently announced independent external review.”

Assistant coach Andy Spence will serve as the team's head coach for the remainder of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Assistant coach Jasmine Mandler and analyst Joseph Lombardi were previously fired from the team amid the scandal.

Priestman, 38, removed herself from managing Canada's pre-Opening Ceremony A win against New Zealand and issued an apology to her players and staff, as well as those for the New Zealand women's team.

Canada will face host nation France in its next Group A matchup on Sunday (July 28).

iHeartMedia is providing 24/7 coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic will broadcast live on NBC Olympics Radio Plus .

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