Suspension of Canada women’s soccer coach over drone scandal

Canada’s women’s soccer team will be without head coach Bev Priestman during the Paris Olympics following allegations of drone spying on the New Zealand team. Priestman was suspended, and assistant coach Andy Spence will lead the defending gold medal team. The Canadian Olympic Committee is conducting an external review of the incident. A support staff member of the Canadian team was detained by French authorities in connection to the incident, and two other staff members were sent home. Canada Soccer will undergo ethics training, and Priestman decided to sit out a match as a sign of integrity. However, the committee later decided to remove Priestman for the remainder of the Games due to additional information about previous drone incidents targeting opponents. Priestman apologized to the New Zealand team and expressed responsibility for the conduct within her program. She signed on to coach Canada through the 2027 Women’s World Cup after leading the team to gold in Tokyo. The Canadian Olympic Committee made its decision after becoming aware of the previous drone use against opponents. Andy Spence will continue to lead the team in Priestman’s absence, with the goal of winning back-to-back gold medals.

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