PARIS – The Canadian Olympic Committee announced the removal of two team members on Wednesday associated with allegations of spying on rival New Zealand with a drone during practice in Saint-Etienne on two separate occasions. Joseph Lombardi, who the COC describes as an uncredited analyst working for Canada Soccer, and assistant coach Jasmine Mander were removed from the team and sent home. Coach Bev Priestman also removed herself from taking part Thursday’s upcoming game against New Zealand.
It was first revealed on Tuesday that a “non-accredited member” of Canada Soccer’s support team was detained by French police on July 22 for allegedly using a drone to record the New Zealand women’s team practice. Now, the COC said Wednesday that the committee learned of a second drone incident at an earlier practice 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. This does not represent the values that our team stands for,” Priestman said 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.”
According to the Canadian Olympic Committee, the incident was revealed after a complaint was made by New Zealand Football on Monday. In a statement, the COC apologized for the mishap, while promising a review of what comes next.
“The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair-play and we are shocked and disappointed,” the COC said in a statement. “We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee.
“We are reviewing next steps with the IOC, Paris 2024, Canada Soccer, and FIFA.”
While it’s not immediately known whether there will be any penalty for the alleged incident, the last thing the Canadians needed at this point was a distraction. The defending Olympic champions are scheduled to begin play against New Zealand on Thursday, all while looking to regain the form that led to their triumph in Tokyo three years ago.
According to a statement by the New Zealand Olympic Committee, the drone was spotted flying over the team’s training session at Saint-Etienne and team support members immediately reported the incident to police, which led to the drone operator being detained by police.
That individual was identified as a support staff member with the Canadian women’s team. Subsequently, the NZOC formally filed a complaint over the incident with the IOC integrity unit and has asked Canada for a full review.
“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 NZOC said in a statement. “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.”
France had previously announced temporary drone use restrictions over the capital for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In general, drone operators will not be able to fly drones over Paris except for missions directly related to the Games.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Tuesday that national security forces guarding Olympic sites are intercepting an average of six drones per day, per French publication Le Monde. Some of these are operated by by “individuals, maybe tourists wanting to take pictures” and, according to a member of Attal’s team, the communications chief of the Brazilian delegation was apprehended over operating a drone.
This week’s incident is not the first time a Canadian soccer team has been accused of drone skullduggery prior to an international match. In 2021, Honduras halted a practice session in Toronto prior to a World Cup qualifier against the Canadian men’s team after a drone was spotted above the field. Though nothing came of the incident, which was reported by Honduran media, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw at Toronto’s BMO Field.
With files from Rob Longley, Postmedia Olympic Team