Canada Soccer Association CEO Kevin Blue said Canada has used drones to spy on opponents in past major tournaments, including the men's national team in this month's Copa America.
During a virtual media call on Friday, Blue said he received “new inside information” on Thursday that led him to believe the recent espionage allegations by the women's team at last week's Olympics were not an isolated incident.
“The more I learn about this particular issue, the more concerned I become about a potentially long-term and deeply ingrained institutional culture of this kind of thing happening. This is clearly completely unacceptable,” he said.
“I have received significant anecdotal feedback about the history of issues related to both programs, as well as the current situation with the men's team. I am aware of an instance where drone use was attempted during the Copa America. My current understanding is that the fact pattern in that instance is significantly different from what occurred here, particularly with regard to the potential impact on the integrity of the competition.”
Kevin Blue has called the Canadian women's national team spying scandal a “systemic” ethical failing, suggesting the Canadian Soccer Association is well aware of espionage outside the Olympics.
— Joshua Cloke (@joshuakloke) July 26, 2024
“The Canadian Soccer Federation is conducting an internal investigation to fully understand the situation and to find out if other similar situations exist,” Blue said. He maintained that the players were not involved in any unethical conduct and that the federation's self-imposed punishment should be considered sufficient.
“We feel it would be unfair to our players to deduct points in this tournament, especially given the significant and immediate steps we have taken to address the situation,” he said.
Blue said that in light of the new findings, the organization had taken steps “to ensure that the team will be able to compete in this tournament without any questions being raised about its performance after the fact.”
Those measures include the firing of women's team coach Bev Priestman, who was suspended for the remainder of the Olympics after the Canadian Olympic Committee learned drones had been used against opponents ahead of this summer's games.
The announcement of Priestman's suspension came hours after the team started their Olympic campaign with a 2-1 win over New Zealand, who had issued a warning about drone use on Monday after a plane was spotted flying overhead during training. Priestman will not coach in the match against New Zealand, and two team members have been sent home as a result.
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Regarding the men's team's use of drones at the Copa, Blue said men's national team coach Jesse Marsh found out about the spying after the fact.
“He explained to me that he immediately and strongly condemned it and communicated that to both the current staff and the former coaching staff that are still with us,” Blue said Friday.
Marsh did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
John Herdman, who coached Canada's women's team until 2018 and the men's team until 2023, has pledged to cooperate as much as he can with the federation's review.
“This is the Olympics. This is the biggest event on earth,” Herdman, who currently coaches Major League Soccer's Toronto FC, told reporters at a news conference on Friday.
“This is a sporting event that requires extremely high integrity and we must ensure that this is maintained at all times. I have always approached major events such as the Olympics and the World Cup with integrity in mind and the ability to compete at the highest level by following the rules and process.”
“I will cooperate with the Canadian Soccer Association in their review to the extent that I can, but I feel confident in that respect based on my experience as an Olympic and World Cup manager. We are not involved in any of those activities.”
Blue reiterated that Andy Spence will lead the women's team during the Olympics, but said his role as team coach after the tournament was unclear.
Stephanie Labbe, Canada's starting goaltender at the 2020 Olympics and a gold medal winner, defended herself and her play on Friday, saying her success came from studying game video and making good guesses.
If anyone wants to talk about penalties, I studied them hard the night before every game. I watched videos of players taking penalties in national team and club games. I made my own guesses based on that information. I did not look at drone footage. Don't confuse good goalkeeping with cheating.
— Stephanie Labbe (@stephlabbe1) July 26, 2024
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(Photo: Eduardo Muñoz/AFP via Getty Images)
