The Canadian Olympic Committee has taken swift action after accusations of espionage involving their women’s soccer team.
The committee recently announced the dismissal of assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi following reports that a drone, operated by a member of their staff, disrupted a training session of New Zealand’s women’s soccer team.
The Canadian Olympic Committee confirmed that there were two instances of drone activity in Saint-Étienne, where the teams are scheduled to compete on Thursday.
As a result, the COC has also supported head coach Bev Priestman’s decision to step back from coaching the upcoming game. To prevent future incidents, Canada Soccer staff will undergo mandatory ethics training.
Following the drone incident on July 22, the drone operator, a support staff member from the Canadian team, was detained by local police, as reported by the New Zealand Olympic Committee.
“Team support members immediately reported the incident to police, leading to the drone operator, who has been identified as a support staff member of the wider Canadian Women’s football team, to be detained,” stated the NZOC.
The International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit has also been notified of the situation.
In a statement, the Canadian Olympic Committee expressed their dismay, saying, “The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair-play and we are shocked and disappointed. We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee.”
In response, the NZOC and New Zealand Football expressed their profound disappointment.
“At this time the NZOC’s main priority is to support the New Zealand women’s football athletes and wider team as they start their campaign,” they said.
Canada, the current Olympic champion, had previously secured back-to-back bronze medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
