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Canada women’s soccer drone scandal — that saw its coach get removed Thursday — is far from a one-off instance, and has included the men’s team as well, according to a new damming report published Thursday.
In fact, the operation has been going on for years and included the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when the women’s team won gold, TSN reported.
A number of instances were cited in the lengthy report that quoted two sources with first-hand knowledge of the situation, and they claimed that those who expressed objections to the operation were even pushed out of roles with the programs.
“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,’” one source told the outlet. “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.”
The source also told TSN that some staffers and contractors were told that part of their job description included the filming and that they could lose their positions with Canada’s soccer federation if they didn’t do it.
Among the specific instances of spying on opposing teams, the report mentioned that a Team Canada coach had spied on two closed practices of the Japanese women’s soccer team during the 2021 games in Tokyo.
Another time allegedly occurred prior to a women’s national team match in 2022 against Panama when the Canadian women were trying to qualify for the World Cup.
The Canadian contractor was spotted trying to film the private practice, and Panama had made a complaint to both Canada Soccer and to Concacaf, soccer’s governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean.
The outlet reported that it had viewed text messages of a Canadian women’s coach discussing filming practices of opponents in 2022 in the lead-up to games against Costa Rica, South Korea and Trinidad.
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
The report cited an instance where individuals connected to the men’s national team had filmed a closed U.S. Soccer practice using a drone in Florida ahead of a Nov. 15, 2019, game, which the Americans won 4-1.
“Most people see this as cheating, which it is,” one source 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.”
The Canadian Olympic Committee removed women’s coach Bev Priestman on Thursday as part of the continued fallout of the latest scandal, when a staffer connected to the women’s team was caught using a drone to film a private practice being conducted by New Zealand.
The highly publicized incident has led to an increased spotlight on the Canadian women’s team and has forced Canada Soccer to address the allegations head on.
“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 a 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.”
