Apparently the maple doesn’t fall far from the sap.
As the fallout continues following the Canadian women’s soccer team’s drone scandal — in which head coach Bev Priestman was removed Thursday after a staffer connected to the club used the device to document a New Zealand practice — reports are shedding light on broader country practices across both genders.
According to Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue, the Canadian men’s soccer team also tried to utilize drones to spy on opponents during the Copa America tournament this month.
“There was attempted drone usage by a member of the men’s national team at Copa America,” The Athletic’s Joshua Kloke Friday during an appearance on CBS Sports Golazo, adding the maneuver “did not impact any of the competitive results.”
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Blue is said to have called the issue “systemic,” according to Kloke, who said the recent violations are “not an isolated incident.”
He added that Jesse Marsch, who became the head coach of Canada’s men’s team in May, only obtained knowledge of the attempted tactic once it had already happened.
The Canadian men’s team lost to Argentina in the Copa America semifinals on July 9.
The shocking developments follow Priestman’s suspension from the Paris Games, “and until the completion of our recently announced independent external review,” Blue said in a statement Thursday.
Kloke mentioned that Priestman is unlikely to be fired immediately with the Olympics officially getting underway Friday.
“My sense is, he [Blue] wants to let the athletes be the focus right now,” Bloke said. “Terminating Bev Priestman’s contract would be a further distraction, and I don’t think that’s something Kevin Blue wants to do right now.”
The original dam broke when an analyst and assistant coach were sent home after two separate incidents of a drone flying over New Zealand practice sessions.
TSN reported Thursday that the utilization of drones dates back years, even during the Canadian women’s team’s gold-medal run at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Team Canada won its first match of Olympic competition Thursday, taking down New Zealand, 2-1, without Priestman at the helm.
Canada’s men’s team, however, did not qualify for Olympic competition.
Now ravaged by controversy, the Canadian women’s team returns to the pitch on Sunday against France for its second match of pool play.