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Canada’s women’s soccer team will be without its coach as it bids for back-to-back Olympic gold medals after it was suspended amid accusations of drone spying in the opening days of the Games of Paris.
The Canadian Olympic Committee said Thursday that head coach Bev Priestman had been suspended and that assistant coach Andy Spence would lead the defending gold medal team throughout the competition.
Priestman will remain suspended until the committee completes an independent external review of the incident in which a drone was allegedly used to spy on a New Zealand team practice, the group said.
On Monday, the New Zealand women’s team told police that members saw a drone flying over their practice in Saint-Étienne.
The alleged the drone operator, a member of the support staff for the Canadian women’s soccer team, was arrested by French authorities on Wednesday.
At the time, the Canadian Olympic Committee said it was “shocked and disappointed” and apologized to New Zealand Football and the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC).
Later on Wednesday, the Canadian organization said had learned of another “drone incident” at Friday’s practice of the New Zealand team, and announced that it was sending home Joseph Lombardi, an unaccredited analyst with Canada Soccer, and the assistant coach Jasmine Mander. The group also said Canada Soccer “opposes mandatory ethics training.”
He added that he had accepted Priestman’s decision to sit out Thursday’s match between Canada and New Zealand.
Priestman, at the time, apologized to the New Zealand women’s football team.
“This does not represent the values our team stands for,” Priestman said in a statement. “They are ultimately responsible for behavior in our program.”
She said she was pulling out of Thursday’s game “to emphasize our team’s commitment to integrity.”
Canada defeated New Zealand, 2-1, in that Group A match.
Earlier Friday, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced its decision to remove Priestman for the remainder of the Games and said she had been suspended by Canada Soccer.
The group said it made its decision after becoming aware of “additional information” regarding “previous use of drones against opponents, prior to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” Kevin Blue, CEO and Secretary General of Canada Soccer, said in a statement.
Priestman in January signed on to coach Canada through the 2027 Women’s World Cup. She was first brought to the team in November 2020 and led her team to gold in Tokyo.