Canada women's soccer arrives at the Paris Olympics this summer as defending gold medalists, a recognition that has come under scrutiny after allegations of widespread drone usage to spy on opponents.
A report from TSN on Thursday detailed multiple incidents of Canadian staffers using drones to obtain video footage from opponents' closed-door practices, behavior described as "cheating" by former player Amy Walsh and anonymous team employees.
Allegations surrounding the improper use of drones first reached the public eye on Monday when a Canadian analyst, later identified as Joseph Lombardi, was arrested by police in Saint-Etienne, France for piloting a drone over the practice of upcoming opponents New Zealand. Lombardi was described as a "non-accredited member of the [support team]" in a Canada Soccer statement on Monday, the organization adding that it was "shocked and disappointed" by the incident before electing to send the analyst home alongside assistant coach Jasmine Mander.
READ MORE: Canada Women head coach Bev Priestman sent home from Olympics after spying scandal emerges
READ MORE: Olympic spying dispute breaks out as drone operator detained by police
Canadian coach Beverly Priestman elected to remove herself from Canada's opening match against the Football Ferns, not directly addressing her knowledge of the drone usage but taking responsibility for the improper behavior. Priestman was suspended for the duration of the Olympics on Thursday, moments after the entirety of TSN's reporting was made public, and will have her position evaluated by an independent review.
"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 Kevin Blue wrote in a statement on Thursday.
"In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer has made the decision to suspend Women's National 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."
The TSN report uncovered longstanding efforts within the Canadian federation to obtain private tactical information from future opponents, including the 2020 Olympic Finals - played in 2021 - where The Reds outlasted Sweden on penalty kicks to claim the nation's first major international honor.
It's claimed Canadian staffers were asked to identify details such as starting lineups, formations, set-piece routines and more, with this espionage established as a non-negotiable part of the job — a contractor's trip to Australia was canceled ahead of the 2023 World Cup for refusing to record opposing practices.
“In a couple of scenarios, people have been pushed and have been told, ‘You have to give 110 percent and this is part of the job so if you don’t feel comfortable with doing this, you do not have a place on the team’,” an anonymous source told TSN.
“It’s not something that’s talked about and it’s not something there are a lot of text messages about because of how sensitive this is. Some of the people who have had to do the filming or review the filming have said to a few staff members how uncomfortable it was for them.”
Mirror US Sports has contacted Canada Soccer for comment.
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