Canada Women’s Football Manager Beverly Priestman Withdraws from Olympics Opener Over Drone Incident

Canada women’s football manager Beverly Priestman will not oversee her team’s opening match against New Zealand at the Olympics after two members of her staff were sent home for allegedly flying a drone over the New Zealand team’s training session.

Priestman, 38, has “voluntarily withdrawn” from Thursday’s match in St Etienne following the New Zealand Olympic Committee’s report of the drone incident. Assistant coach Jasmine Mander and “unaccredited analyst” Joseph Lombardi have been sent back to Canada as a result of the incident.

FIFA has initiated disciplinary proceedings against Canada Soccer, Priestman, Lombardi, and Mander. The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) revealed that a scouting report by Lombardi was sent to Mander. Priestman accepted responsibility for her colleagues’ actions, stating, “I first and foremost want to apologise to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada. This does not represent the values that our team stands for. I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program.”

The COC confirmed that a “non-accredited member of the Canada Soccer support team” was detained by authorities and expressed shock and disappointment at the incident. “The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair play and we are shocked and disappointed,” the COC said in a statement. “We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee.”

The New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) has formally lodged the incident with the IOC integrity unit and requested a full review from Canada. “The NZOC and New Zealand Football are committed to upholding the integrity and fairness of the Olympic Games and are deeply shocked and disappointed by this incident,” the NZOC stated.