The Canadian Olympic Committee Fires Head Coach Following Spying Scandal
There will be no quest for gold for Bev Priestman.
The head coach of the Canadian Olympic women’s soccer team has been removed from her position after it was discovered coaching staff had used drones to spy on New Zealand’s team.
“Over the past 24 hours,” Canada Soccer CEO and general secretary Kevin Blue began a July 25 statement, “additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”
He continued, “In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer has made the decision to suspend Women’s National Soccer Team Head Coach, Bev Priestman for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and until the completion of our recently announced independent external review.”
E! News has reached out to Priestman for comment but has not heard back.
The decision to suspend Priestman comes after an assistant coach and analyst were discovered to be spying on New Zealand’s training session with a drone, according to NBC Miami. Both the assistant coach, Jasmine Mander, and analyst, Joseph Lombardi, were let go ahead of Priestman’s suspension.