By Canadian Press

Canada Soccer studying drone-spying review, says it shows past ‘unacceptable culture’

Nov 8, 2024 | 1:42 PM

Canada Soccer says an independent review has confirmed that the Paris Olympics drone-spying scandal was not an isolated misstep.

Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue says the spying “was a symptom of a past pattern of an unacceptable culture and insufficient oversight within the national teams.”

Canada Soccer announced July 31 that it had retained Sonia Regenbogen from the law firm of Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark to handle the review of the Olympic incident “and subsequently, any related matters of a historic nature.”

The governing body has the document in hand but has yet to release it, saying it is reviewing the report and its conclusions. In a short statement, Blue said he expects to release “key conclusions and next steps within a week.” ​ ​

Canada women’s coach Bev Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi are serving one-year FIFA suspensions in the wake of New Zealand’s Olympic Committee filing a complaint with the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit, alleging drones were flown over a pair of pre-tournament practice sessions.

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Canada managed to reach the Olympic knockout round despite being docked six points for the spying scandal which also saw Canada Soccer fined 200,000 Swiss francs ($317,660).

The defending champion Canadians, currently ranked sixth in the world, were eliminated in the quarterfinals by No. 4 Germany in a penalty shootout.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press