Winnipeg soccer community left disappointed in wake of Olympic drone spying scandal

Posted on July 26, 2024 by Peggy

Members of Winnipeg’s soccer community and fans of “the beautiful game” say they’re disappointed over the drone-spying scandal hovering over Canada’s Olympic women’s soccer team.

The women’s national team has been shrouded in controversy since earlier this week when two staffers were sent home for allegedly using a drone to spy on New Zealand’s practices.

New Zealand was the group’s first opponent at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Canada won 2-1.

And in the latest instalment of the scandal, Soccer Canada Announced around 1:30 a.m. local time Friday in France, head coach Bev Priestman was suspended for the rest of the Games.

“It’s a stain that will need to be cleaned up in some way at some point in time,” said Philip Dos Santos, the head coach of Winnipeg’s professional soccer team, Valour FC.

“It’s a shame that it happened, especially at the time that it happened when everyone was very excited about what this competition could mean, with defending a gold medal,” he said.

Priestman voluntarily withdrew from coaching Thursday’s opening match in the wake of the scandal.

However, Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive officer David Shoemaker told reporters in France hours after Priestman’s suspension the bench boss was likely aware drones were used to spy on New Zealand’s practices.

“One of the key pieces of information was the conclusion from Canada Soccer that she needed to be suspended, based on their accumulation of facts,” Shoemaker said at a news conference at Canada Olympic House.

“I’ve seen some of them, some of the information they have, and we’ve gathered some additional information ourselves that made me conclude that she was highly likely to have been aware of the incident here in St-Etienne.”

The decision to boot Priestman from the Games was made at the recommendation of Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue, who said more information had recently come to light about previous incidents of drone-spying predating the Olympic Games in Paris. Blue also pledged an independent review of the situation.

FIFA’s disciplinary committee is looking into the matter too and the gold medal Canada won on penalty kicks against Sweden in Tokyo has come under scrutiny. Priestman was also Canada’s head coach there.

Local fans left disappointed

Blue also said the players haven’t “been involved in any unethical behaviour,” something he’s asked the International Olympic Committee and FIFA to take into consideration as they weigh possible sanctions.

And fans at a local viewing party in Winnipeg said they’re upset about the scandal.

“We always thought they were so pristine and followed all the rules,” said Sandra Murphy at a watch party at CF Polo Park. “I feel disappointed for the players because they are not involved, they give their hearts and souls to practicing and playing,” she said.

Those thoughts were echoed by Barbara Kaehler.

“It’s a bit of a downer, but I am still excited about watching it and hoping that the girls will do good,” said Kaehler.

Soccer players — A goalie dives during a Valour FC practice on Friday. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)

Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair also weighed in Friday in an Instagram statement. She said she had never been shown or discussed drone footage in team or individual meetings she was present for over 23 years.

“It’s unfortunate that the players of our national team have had to play through condemnable actions by some of their staff as they attempt to defend our gold medal,” Sinclair said. “Actions players have no control over.”

Spying in sports not new

Spying in sports isn’t new by any means.

The NFL’s New England Patriots were fined $250,000 US and lost their first-round draft pick in 2007 after violating league rules against using video to steal signals, in a scandal that became known as “Spygate.” The team’s head coach at the time, Bill Belichick was also fined $500,000.

The Patriots also came under fire again in 2020, when they were fined $1.1 million by the NFL for inappropriately filming the Cincinnati Bengals’ sideline during a game in 2019. The NFL also docked them a third-round draft pick for 2021 as part of the punishment for the incident.

At a grassroots level, Ontario banned drones in 2022 due to safety concerns and chose to limit drone use “until broader safety regulations regarding drones have been more widely adopted.” It prohibits the use of drones “for recreation and for practical uses including the recording of practices, games and competition.”

CBC Sports confirmed Thursday at least two provincial soccer organizations, in Quebec and Manitoba, are considering implementing a policy on drone use, similar to the Ontario ban.

However, Hector Vergara, executive director of Manitoba Soccer, said the organization will “have no comment until the investigation by Canada Soccer is completed and we are provided with background on their decisions.”