Suspended soccer coach Bev Priestman likely aware of spying, Canadian Olympic Committee CEO says
CBC
Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive officer David Shoemaker says the head coach of the national women's soccer team was likely aware drones were used to spy on another team's practices in France.
Shoemaker made the comments hours after Bev Priestman was suspended from the Olympic Games early Friday morning.
"One of the key pieces of information was the conclusion from Canada Soccer that she needed to be suspended, based on their accumulation of facts," Shoemaker said at a news conference at Canada Olympic House.
"I've seen some of them, some of the information they have, and we've gathered some additional information ourselves that made me conclude that she was highly likely to have been aware of the incident here in St-Etienne."
Two staff members were kicked off the soccer team Wednesday following reports a drone was used to spy on New Zealand practices Monday and last Friday.
Priestman voluntarily removed herself from Canada's 2-1 win over New Zealand in St-Etienne to open the Olympic tournament Thursday.
She'd said the previous day she didn't direct individuals to spy on New Zealand and was "highly disappointed" to learn of it.
WATCH | Canadian Olympic Committee supports Priestman suspension:
Shoemaker said Wednesday he was persuaded Priestman had "no involvement, no knowledge of the incident," but his opinion later changed.
The decision to kick Priestman out of the Games was made at the recommendation of Canada Soccer's CEO Kevin Blue, who said more information had recently come to light about previous incidents of drone spying predating the Olympic Games in Paris. Blue has pledged an independent review of the situation.
"We imposed the ultimate sanction the Canadian Olympic Committee can impose, bearing in mind that we oversee soccer players and the staff for this limited window with the Olympic Games, in removing them from the Olympic team, including the head coach, and sending them home," Shoemaker said.
"The most important piece of information that I learned was that, in the interim 24 hours that the CEO of Canada Soccer had been on the ground in St- Etienne, he came to the conclusion that Bev Priestman needed to be suspended. We have seen some of that information. We fully support that it's the right decision under the circumstances."
Canada's second game is against host France on Sunday in St-Etienne. Blue said the federation met with the players Friday morning.
Shoemaker said he's comfortable with the defending women's soccer champions continuing to compete in the Games.
