2 Canadians being 'sent home immediately,' removed from Olympic team after drone incident
CTV
An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and 'sent home immediately,' according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and "sent home immediately" from the prelude to this year's Paris games, according to the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC).
In a statement released Wednesday, the COC announced Joseph Lombardi, whom they called "an unaccredited analyst with Soccer Canada," and assistant coach Jasmine Mander, have been "removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and will be sent home immediately."
The COC also said they're in contact with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIFA, and have been transparent and cooperative throughout the process, adding that further action may be taken as a review of the incident continues.
On Tuesday, the COC released a brief statement acknowledging that a "non-accredited member of the Canada Soccer support team" had been detained by local authorities in Saint-Étienne, a small city 400 kilometres south of Paris, near Lyon, France.
"The staff member is believed to have been using a drone to record the New Zealand women’s football team during practice," the earlier statement reads, acknowledging that the competing team lodged a complaint two days earlier, on July 22.
"The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair-play and we are shocked and disappointed," the COC said.
The COC statements echoed a July 23 release from the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) announcing the formal complaint to the IOC's integrity unit.
