Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman on Wednesday said she would step away from the team’s opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal.
New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week.
As of press time last night, Canada, the defending Olympic champions, were set to open the Paris Games against New Zealand in Saint-Etienne.
Photo: Reuters
In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) said on Wednesday.
Priestman said she was voluntarily removing herself from the opener “with the interests of both teams in mind and to ensure everyone feels that the sportsmanship of this game is upheld.”
In a statement, Priestman also apologized to New Zealand.
“On behalf of our entire team, I first and foremost want to apologize to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada,” she said. “This does not represent the values that our team stands for.”
Assistant coach Andy Spence would lead Canada in the opener.
Priestman also spoke briefly in person to reporters after training.
“By no means did I direct the individuals,” she said. “I’m still learning the details and obviously this is all unfolding. But again, I think the important thing right now is to look forward, put the actions in place and take the sanctions.”
FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, said its disciplinary committee had opened hearings against Canada Soccer, Priestman, Lombardi and Mander.
Canada Soccer announced late on Wednesday that it would conduct an independent review.
The COC on Tuesday confirmed that a nonaccredited member of Canada’s soccer team staff was detained by French authorities after a drone was spotted above training.
A French court on Wednesday sentenced a 43-year-old Canadian man to an eight-month suspended sentence for filming two of New Zealand’s closed training sessions with an aerial device.
The man, who was not named, admitted to the charges and identified himself an independent sports analyst for the Canadian federation, Saint-Etienne prosecutor David Charmatz said.
The COC also apologized to the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) and New Zealand Football.
“The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair play and we are shocked and disappointed,” the statement said. “We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee.”
The NZOC said it and New Zealand Football “are committed to upholding the integrity and fairness of the Olympic Games — at this time the NZOC’s main priority is to support the New Zealand women’s football athletes and wider team as they start their campaign.”
It is not the first time a Canadian soccer team has been involved in a drone controversy involving an international rival’s training session.
In 2021 at Toronto, Honduras stopped a training session ahead of its men’s World Cup qualifier against Canada after spotting a drone above the field, reports in Honduran media said.
The teams played to a 1-1 draw.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS