NDP MP wants women's Olympic soccer coach, staff to testify on drone scandal
CBC
NDP MP Niki Ashton has put forward a motion to call the leaders of Canada's national women's soccer team and Canada Soccer to testify on the drone spying scandal before the House of Commons' heritage committee.
"This isn't just about what happened at the Olympics. It's about Canada's reputation in soccer and in sports," the Manitoba MP said in an emailed statement.
"Canadians need to know the full picture of what happened and how to make sure this never happens again. We are seeking accountability from Team Canada officials and [Canada Soccer]."
A Canada Soccer analyst was caught operating a drone to spy on the New Zealand's team's practice ahead of the women's national Olympic opener on July 25. Canada won that game 2-1.
As first reported by TSN, Ashton's motion seeks to call head coach Bev Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander, analyst Joey Lombardi and former coach of both the men's and women's national teams John Herdman.
"I want to be clear, the women soccer players who represented Canada did us proud. These athletes have reminded us that it takes years of hard work, dedication and sacrifice to reach this point. It also takes supportive families, friends, coaches and communities to reach this point," she said.
"The athletes deserve answers. Canadians deserve answers. That's what this motion is about."
In her statement, Ashton stresses the importance of getting soccer in Canada "back on track" as the nation prepares to co-host the 2026 World Cup with the United States and Mexico.
CBC news has reached out to Canada Soccer for comment, as well as other members of the heritage committee.
On July 28, FIFA levied a six-point penalty against the Canadian team, making it difficult for the defending Olympic champions to make it out of the tournament's group stage.
The international soccer federation's ruling cited emails from Canada Soccer coaching staff — including Priestman — which suggest using drones to spy on practices is more than an one-off occurrence.
"It's something the analyst has always done and I know there is a whole operation on the men's side with regards to it (we had [redacted] in with us recently and he was outstanding in this area)," says a March 20 message from Priestman cited by FIFA.
"Yesterday in a meeting when discussing, I asked [redacted] to propose a [sic] alternative solution as for scouting it can be the difference between winning and losing and all top 10 teams do it."
Team Canada unsuccessfully tried to appeal FIFA's point deduction.
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