The Canadian Olympic Committee announced on Wednesday that it had kicked an assistant coach for Canada's women's soccer team out of the country's Olympic team after a drone was flown during a training session for the New Zealand women's soccer team and was believed to have been operated by a member of the Canadian support staff.
Drone Foul also has a Canadian analyst involved.
Additionally, the Canadian committee announced that head coach Bev Priestman has withdrawn from coaching the team for Thursday's match against New Zealand.
“Joseph Lombardi, a non-official analyst for the Canadian Soccer Association, has been removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and will be sent home immediately,” the committee said in a statement.
“Lombardi's direct assistant coach, Jasmine Mander, has been removed from the Canadian Olympic team and will be sent home immediately,” the report said.
Priestman apologised to New Zealand soccer players and staff, as well as to the Canadian team players.
“This is in no way reflective of the values our team stands for,” Priestman said. “I am ultimately responsible for the actions within our program, therefore, to underscore our team's commitment to integrity, I have made the decision to voluntarily recuse myself from coaching Thursday's game.”
The Canadian Olympic Committee said it was made aware of a second drone incident during a New Zealand training session on July 19.
This is the second Olympic controversy this week: Britain's three-time Olympic gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin withdrew from the Paris Games after a video was released alleging she behaved inappropriately while coaching other athletes.
Dujardin said in a statement that the four-year-old video “shows an error of judgment on my part during a coaching session.” It's unclear what video Dujardin was referring to or what specifically appears on the video.
Dujardin said the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) was investigating.
“What happened is completely out of character for me and counter to how I train horses and mentor my students, but there are no excuses,” Dujardin said in a statement on Instagram. “I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment.”
Defending Olympic soccer champions Canada and New Zealand will face off in the opening match of the Olympic Games.
New Zealand has filed a complaint with the International Olympic Committee's integrity department over Monday's drone incident.
“Team support members immediately contacted police and the drone operator, identified as a member of the Canadian women's soccer team support staff, was detained,” the New Zealand Olympic Committee said in a statement.
“The New Zealand Olympic Committee has formally reported the incident to the IOC's integrity department and has requested a full investigation by Canada,” the committee said in a statement.
The committee said it and the New Zealand Football Union “are committed to upholding the integrity and fairness of the Olympic Games and the New Zealand Football Union's main priority at this time is supporting New Zealand's women's footballers and the entire team as they begin their campaign.”
This is not the first time the Canadian soccer team has been embroiled in controversy over drones during training sessions of an international rival.
During a men's World Cup qualifier in Toronto in 2021, Honduras canceled training before their match against Canada after a drone was spotted over the field, according to Honduran media reports. The teams ended up playing to a 1-1 draw.
The tennis star will join NBA legend LeBron James in leading the U.S. athletes in the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
