Two Canadians removed from Olympic team, sent home after drone spying incident
Canadian women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman removed herself from Thursday’s Olympic Games opener against New Zealand and two team staff members were sent home after two drone incidents.
Assistant coach Jasmine Mander and Canada Soccer analyst Joseph Lombardi were ousted from the soccer team’s staff, the Canadian Olympic Committee said Wednesday in a statement in which it accepted Priestman’s decision to not coach the opener in Saint-Etienne, France.
The shakeup came after the COC’s review of a drone incidents in Saint-Etienne. There were reports that drones flew over New Zealand’s practice sessions both Monday and last Friday.
“I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program,” Priestman said in Wednesday’s statement. “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.”