Canadians being ‘sent home immediately,’ removed from Olympic team after drone incident

By Charlie Buckley

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    TORONTO (CTV Network) — An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and “sent home immediately” from the prelude to this year’s Paris games, according to the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC).

“The COC is in contact with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and in contact with FIFA. Canada Soccer has been transparent and cooperative throughout the process,” a statement issued Wednesday by the COC reads, adding that further action may be taken as review of the incident continues.

Earlier in the day, the COC released a brief statement acknowledging that a “non-accredited member of the Canada Soccer support team” had been detained by local authorities in Saint-Étienne, a small city 400 kilometres south of Paris, near Lyon, France.

“The staff member is believed to have been using a drone to record the New Zealand women’s football team during practice,” the earlier statement reads, acknowledging that the competing team lodged a complaint two days earlier, on July 22.

“The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair-play and we are shocked and disappointed,” the COC said.

The COC statements echoed a July 23 release from the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) announcing the formal complaint to the IOC’s integrity unit.

“The 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, which occurred just three days before the sides are due to face each other in their opening game of Paris 2024,” the statement reads.

Head coach sidelined

As part of the announced measures to address the incident, the Canadian team’s head coach will remove herself from an upcoming match against New Zealand on Thursday morning, Paris time.

“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. This does not represent the values that our team stands for,” said Bev Priestman, head coach of Canada Soccer’s women’s national team, in a statement.

“I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program. 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.”

In addition, Canada Soccer staff will undergo mandatory ethics training, the COC said.

“The actions of those involved do not reflect Canada’s values or the values of sport,” wrote Carla Qualtrough, Canada’s minister of sport and physical activity, in a post to X Wednesday.

“I support the sanctions being imposed by the Canadian Olympic Committee, their apologies to New Zealand, and the decision of Head Coach Bev Priestman … These decisive actions will help ensure that individuals are held accountable and preserve the integrity of the game and fair play for all athletes.”

Canada and New Zealand’s women’s soccer teams will face off Thursday at 11 a.m. Central European Time (5 a.m. EDT), their opening tournament match for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

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