Canada Soccer chief executive Kevin Blue said he has been made aware of drones being used by the nation's men's team after it was revealed Canada's women's squad had done the same at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Women's national team coach Bev Priestman was stood down from her role after a drone was allegedly flown over the training camp of New Zealand, Canada's opponents in their first game at the Olympics - a fixture they won 2-1. Now the saga has stretched into the men's game.
Canadian Soccer CEO Blue has revealed in a statement that a similar drone tactic had been used by the men's team during their Copa America campaign.
READ MORE: Trinity Rodman names 3 areas of improvement from USWNT after Olympics win
READ MORE: USWNT's Emma Hayes confronts 'hardest thing to do in coaching' before Olympics
"I am aware of an instance of attempted drone usage at the Copa America,” Blue said of the accusations on Friday. “I have spoken with our current head coach about the incident after it occurred and I know he denounced it as a practice to his staff.”
According to a TSN report, the usage of drones from both the men's and women's teams has been common practice for some time. Most notably at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo three years ago, where the women's team allegedly used the spying tactic on the way to winning gold.
“You get to know their formations, their starting lineup,” a TSN source claimed. “You also look at who is taking a penalty kick and their set pieces. Most people see this as cheating, which it is,” one of the sources said. "Some of our coaches just see it as a competitive advantage and justify it by saying everyone does it, which is also not true. Not everyone cheats and neither should we.”
Follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sport and entertainment stories.
Priestman opted to step away from her role ahead of the New Zealand match, with The Canadian Olympic Committee also confirming that assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi had been sent home from the team camp. Head coach Priestman appeared to take full responsibility.
"On behalf of our entire team, I first and foremost want to apologize to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada. This does not represent the values that our team stands for," Priestman said in a statement. "I am ultimately responsible for the conduct of our program.
"Accordingly, to emphasize our team's commitment to integrity, I have decided to voluntarily withdraw from coaching the match on Thursday. In the spirit of accountability, I do this with the interests of both teams in mind and to ensure everyone feels that the sportsmanship of this game is upheld."
Both FIFA and Canada Soccer have launched investigations into the allegations. Having kicked off their Olympic campaign with a 2-1 victory over New Zealand, Canada's women's national team will take on host nation France in their next game, followed by Colombia.
Most Popular
Comments / 0