Canada head coach Bev Priestman apologizes to New Zealand and says the spying scandal does not represent the team’s “values.”
Canadian women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman has withdrawn from her role as opening player at the Paris Olympics, while an assistant coach and a team analyst have been kicked out of the Games after a spying scandal rocked the tournament.
Football’s governing body FIFA announced on Wednesday that it had opened disciplinary proceedings after New Zealand’s women’s team said a training session this week was disrupted by a drone flown by a Canadian team employee.
Canada and New Zealand face each other in the opening match of Group A on Thursday.
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) also announced that it had taken action to remove two staff members from the Olympic squad of the team that won gold medals at the Tokyo Games.
“Joseph Lombardi, a non-accredited analyst with Canada Soccer, will be removed from the Canadian Olympic team and sent home immediately,” COC said in a statement.
“Jasmine Mander, an assistant coach who reports to Mr. Lombardi, will be removed from the Canadian Olympic team and sent home immediately.”
Lombardi, 43, was also given an eight-month suspended prison sentence for flying the drone over New Zealand’s training session in Saint-Etienne on Monday.
In a statement, Priestman, the head coach of the Canadian team, said she had decided to “voluntarily withdraw” her participation in Thursday’s game against New Zealand.
“On behalf of our entire team, I would first like to apologize to the players and staff of New Zealand Football and the players of Team Canada. This does not represent the values our team stands for,” Priestman said.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) reported the incident to the police and the International Olympic Committee Integrity Unit.
The NZOC said it and the New Zealand Football Association were “committed to maintaining the integrity and fairness of the Olympic Games”.
“The NZOC’s main priority at this time is to support the New Zealand women’s footballers and extended team as they launch their campaign,” it said.
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