Breaking: Soccer Staff Fired for Spying on Rival Team With Drone at Paris Olympics
Breaking: Soccer Staff Fired for Spying on Rival Team With Drone at Paris Olympics
The women’s soccer competition starts with unexpected drama after a member of the C
anada coaching staff was caught flying a drone over New Zealand’s practice.
The Paris Olympics is opening with a bang—or rather, an annoying buzz flying overhead.
The New Zealand women’s soccer squad spotted a suspicious drone during its training session on July 27. The team immediately reported the incident to the police, which traced it to their opponent: Canada, which squares off with New Zealand on July 25.
“The New Zealand Olympic Committee [NZOC] and New Zealand Football are committed to upholding the integrity and fairness of the Olympic Games and are deeply shocked and disappointed by this incident,” says the NZOC.
The police detained a support member of the wider Canada coaching staff believed to be flying the drone. The Canadian team issued an apology and launched an investigation.
“The staff member is believed to have been using a drone to record the New Zealand women’s football team during practice,” says the Canadian Olympic Committee. “The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair play, and we are shocked and disappointed.”
The investigation then revealed that a member of the wider coaching staff also flew a drone over the New Zealand practice three days earlier, on July 19.
“On behalf of our entire team, I first and foremost want to apologize to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada,” says head coach Bev Priestman. “This does not represent the values that our team stands for.”
Coach Priestman fired two members of the coaching staff, including Joseph Lombardi, an unaccredited analyst with Canada Soccer, and assistant coach Jasmine Mander. Priestman also chose to remove herself from coaching the match against New Zealand.
“I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program,” says Priestman. “Accordingly, to emphasize 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 FIFA Disciplinary Committee is also investigating the incident as a potential breach of its policies, according to The Athletic.
Unauthorized drones are banned at the Olympics, though French air defense staff say they have intercepted around six per day, likely from individuals and tourists trying to take pictures in banned areas, Le Monde reports.
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