Olympics-Former Canada soccer manager Herdman confident his teams did not spy with drones

By Karl Plume

(Reuters) - Former Canada women's team manager John Herdman said news that Team Canada staff used a drone to spy on an opponent's practice was "a surprise and a shock," and he is "highly confident" that such practices did not occur under his watch.

Herdman said he would cooperate with Canada Soccer's internal review of drone spying allegations that led to Canadian women's manager Bev Priestman's suspension from the Paris Games and cast the reigning Olympic champions' title defence in an unsavory light.

But Herdman declined to provide details of his experiences managing Canada's national teams from 2011 until his departure to coach Toronto FC in 2023.

"I'm highly confident that in my time as a head coach at an Olympic Games or World Cup, we've never been involved in any of those activities," Herdman told reporters.

"I've always gone into Olympic Games, World Cups, big events, with integrity in mind and the ability to compete at the highest level, following the rules and processes. So from my side, I'll help Canada Soccer where I can with that review."

Herdman managed Canada's women's team at the London Olympics in 2012 and the Rio games in 2016, as well as the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015. He also headed the men's national team at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

The drone scandal has engulfed the women's tournament.

Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive officer David Shoemaker said on Friday that head coach Priestman was likely to have been aware that drones were used to spy on opponents' practices in France.

Global soccer's governing body FIFA has launched its own investigation of Canada Soccer amid allegations that such spying activity has been ongoing for years.

(Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago, editing by Pritha Sarkar)