Prisman’s suspension shows Canada’s spying extends beyond the Paris Olympics – Equalizer Soccer

Kevin Blue, CEO and General Secretary of Canada Soccer, issued the following statement on Thursday regarding Priesman and her suspension from Canada Soccer.

“Over the past 24 hours, we have learned additional information regarding previous drone deployments against opponents ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer has decided to suspend the head coach of the women’s national soccer team, Bev Priestman, for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and pending the completion of our recently announced independent external review.”

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) fully supports Blue and Canada Soccer’s decision to ban Priestman from the Olympic Games and has released its own statement.

“The Canadian Olympic Committee has removed Canada women’s national soccer team head coach Bev Priestman from the Canadian Olympic team due to her suspension by Canada Soccer. Assistant coach Andy Spence will lead the women’s national soccer team for the remainder of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.”

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This development raises further questions about how long Canada Soccer has been using drones to spy on opposing teams, how many people knew about it and who gave the green light.

All questions are of particular interest as Canada has won three consecutive Olympic medals under the leadership of Priestman and former women’s national team head coach and current Toronto FC head coach John Herdman.

An explosive report by senior TSN correspondent Rick Westhead described several cases in which Canada Soccer employees were instructed to spy on the opponents of the women’s and men’s national teams using drone surveillance.

It has also been alleged that a Canadian coach filmed not one but two of Japan’s closed-door training sessions at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics ahead of Canada’s 1-1 draw with Japan.

The report also said that those hired on a contract basis were told that filming was part of their job description and that they could lose their jobs with the Canadian Soccer Association if they failed to comply with this duty.

Westhead’s report specifically described a situation in which an individual hired by Canada Soccer was scheduled to travel to Australia for the World Cup last summer. When their assignment, which included recording opposition sessions, was explained, the individual caved. Their trip was subsequently cancelled and someone else flew to carry out the task instead.

Canada Soccer’s use of drone surveillance to cheat and gain an advantage reflects poorly on the entire organization. It raises the question of whether Canada won Olympic gold in Tokyo because of fair play and soccer or with the help of a drone.

Instead of fans celebrating Canada’s victory over the Football Ferns in Group A and goals from Cloe Lacasse and Evelyne Viens, the focus was no longer on the athletes but on a scandal that could have come straight out of a Tom Clancy novel.