Briefly: Bev Priestman won’t coach again for Canada, focus shifts to John Herdman. Censored summary of report by Toronto lawyer says ex-coach of Canada’s men’s and women’s national teams couldn’t find time for an interview.
Bob Mackin
Disgraced coach Bev Priestman will not return to the Canadian national women’s team after a lawyer hired by the Canadian Soccer Association submitted her report on the Paris 2024 Olympics drone spying scandal.
Joey Lombardi (left), Bev Priestman and Jasmine Mander (CSA)
Canadian Olympic women’s team staff were caught flying a drone in restricted airspace during New Zealand training sessions in Saint-Etienne. Sonia Regenbogen of Toronto firm Mathews, Dinsdale and Clark LLP did not get to the bottom of the cheating, however.
In an appendix to the heavily censored, public summary released on Nov. 12, Regenbogen admitted that John Herdman, the former coach of the men’s and women’s senior teams, was unavailable for an interview “due to scheduling issues.”
As such, Regenbogen’s investigation was “not a comprehensive review” of drone spying by the men’s program.
But that does not mean Herdman, now coach of Toronto FC, is off the hook.
“Canada Soccer has initiated a proceeding with respect to Mr. Herdman under its Disciplinary Code. Given this, Mr. Herdman and Canada Soccer may engage further regarding this matter,” said the appendix to the eight-page report.
Canadians will have to wait longer for answers to key questions. Did Canada use drones to spy on opponents in the qualifying tournament for Qatar 2022? Will the Canadian program, one of three co-hosting the next men’s World Cup in 2026, face CONCACAF or FIFA penalties?
A security official for one of the 16 FIFA World Cup 26 host cities said in a July 9 affidavit that “terrorism was the primary focus [of Paris 2024 security] and the concerns are that drones may be used as a mode of attack.”
Dave Jones, the City of Vancouver’s co-lead for safety and security, swore the affidavit against theBreaker.news appeal for disclosure of files about Vancouver’s successful bid to host matches in 2026 at B.C. Place Stadium.
Jones indicated officials are planning around five major security risks for 2026:
- violent or terror attacks, which can take many forms;
- cyber security threats, which can affect infrastructure such as power and water, public transportation etc.;
- protests or acts of sabotage or vandalism disrupting any aspect of the event (from disrupting access to the event/stadium, to disrupting events inside the stadium, to damage to property, loss of crowd control, etc.);
- fans exploiting the security system to gain un-ticketed access; and
- transportation disruptions and congestion in the physical sense, gridlock.
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