Canada head coach Bev Priestman will not take charge of their opening Olympic match against New Zealand and two members of her staff have been sent home from the Games amid claims a drone was used to spy on their opponents training.
Assistant coach Jasmine Mander and Joseph Lombardi, an unaccredited analyst with Canada Soccer, have been sent home after a drone was alleged to have recorded New Zealand training sessions on two separate occasions.
Canada, the gold medallists from Tokyo, are due to play New Zealand in their opening Group A game in St Etienne on Thursday.
A statement from the Canadian Olympic Committee said Mander and Lombardi would be sent home immediately and Canada Soccer staff would undergo “mandatory ethics training”, while Priestman, the former England assistant coach, announced she had withdrawn from coaching Thursday’s fixture.
“On behalf of our entire team, I first and foremost want to apologise to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada,” Priestman said.
“This does not represent the values that our team stands for.
“I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our programme. Accordingly, to emphasise 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.”
The COC said it was told a non-accredited member of the Canada Soccer support team had been detained by French authorities in St Etienne following a complaint by New Zealand Football on July 22.
Following the COC’s review of that incident it said it had learned of a “second drone incident” on July 19.
“The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair play and we are shocked and disappointed. We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee,” the COC said in a statement.
The COC said it was in contact with the International Olympic Committee and football’s global governing body FIFA.
“The COC will continue to review this matter and may take further action if necessary,” it added.
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