The drone spying scandal that broke out during the Canadian women’s soccer team’s campaign for the 2024 Paris Olympics was a symptom of a “past pattern of an unacceptable culture,” Canada Soccer said after an independent investigation.
A drone is said to have been used to spy on a training session of one of their opponents, New Zealand. The head coach, Bev Priestman, was subsequently banned by FIFA for a year, while analyst Joseph Lombardi and assistant coach Jasmine Mander were also banned following the allegations. Priestman was removed from her role.
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The sport’s governing body in Canada, Canada Soccer, said Friday it had received the report from an independent reviewer “hired by the organization’s board of directors to investigate the illegal use of drones at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris,” and Senior officials provided their initial responses and promised a more detailed response in the coming days.
Kevin Blue, the CEO and general secretary of Canada Soccer, said: “Our initial review of the independent investigator’s conclusions shows that the Paris drone incident was a symptom of a past pattern of unacceptable culture and inadequate oversight within the national government. ploughing.
“While we consider how best to address the findings, we also want to take decisive action. To this end, we will announce the main conclusions and next steps within a week.”
Canada Soccer President Peter Augruso added: “We are committed to renewing our organization and ensuring Canada Soccer is a federation that people can be proud of. We know that more needs to be done and that change takes time. We appreciate the support and patience of partners, families and fans, and look forward to sharing our next steps soon.”
Friday’s statement added that attorney Sonia Regenbogen, of Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark, LLP, conducted the independent investigation and considered evidence from a wide range of people, including coaches, administrative staff, former employees and the CEO and board chairman of Canada Soccer.
Despite being deducted six points during the group stage of the Olympic tournament in the wake of the scandal, Canada advanced to the quarter-finals with three victories on the field before being eliminated by Germany on penalties.
