NDP MP Niki Ashton has introduced a motion to summon leaders of the Canadian women’s national soccer team and the Canadian Soccer Federation to testify before the House of Commons Culture and Heritage Committee about the drone spying scandal.
“This is about much more than just this incident, it’s not just about the women’s soccer team. This is about the reputation of soccer in Canada and the reputation of sport in Canada,” the Manitoba MP told CBC News in an interview on Friday.
“As members of Parliament, and as Canadians, we have a right to know why we got into this situation, and more importantly, how we can make it better.”
A Canadian Soccer Association analyst was caught operating a drone to spy on the New Zealand team’s training ahead of the women’s Olympic opening match on July 25. Canada won the match 2-1.
“We need to make it clear that at the highest level it was a hard-earned victory,” Ashton said.
“You can’t win by cheating, by spying and by damaging other people’s reputations. That’s not what football is about, that’s not what sport is about and that’s not what Canada is about.”
After Canada’s women’s soccer team lost points in a drone spying scandal and came away with a crucial win over Colombia to stay in the Olympics, The Nation’s Adrienne Arsenault spoke to analyst Shireen Ahmed and former player Claire Rustad about how big the scandal means for players, the Olympics and sport.
Ashton’s motion, as first reported by TSN, calls for the convening of head coach Bev Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander, analyst Joey Lombardi and former men’s and women’s national team coach John Herdman.
“The players are real heroes because they gave it their all,” Ashton said. “For the governing body, FIFA, to deduct points and take disciplinary action would be the worst thing, but the players gave it their all.”
“They have been let down by team officials with this spying and misconduct. The arrogance shown by Canadian team officials in the aftermath of this drone scandal really shows that we need to put the athletes at the heart of this issue, and we need to do everything we can to support them to ensure this never happens again and to ensure their dreams, and our dreams as Canadians, come true.”
Ashton stressed the importance of getting soccer “back on track” in Canada as the country prepares to co-host the 2026 World Cup with the United States and Mexico.
“This incident will be a major blow to Canadian soccer on the world stage,” Ashton said. “We need to get back on track, repair our reputation and make sure this never happens again.”
CBC News has reached out to the Canadian Soccer Association and other members of the heritage committee for comment.
Canadian team discipline
On July 28, FIFA imposed a six-point penalty on the Canadian team, making it difficult for the defending Olympic champions to advance beyond the group stage of the tournament.
FIFA’s ruling cited emails from Canada Soccer’s coaching staff, including Priestman, that suggest the use of drones to spy on practices was not a one-time incident.
“This is something that analysts have always done, and I know there is a body of work on that on the men’s side (we [redacted] “He was with us recently and was outstanding in this area,” a March 20 message from Priestman, cited by FIFA, read.
“During yesterday’s meeting, during the discussion, I asked [redacted] suggest [sic] When it comes to scouting, alternative solutions can make the difference between winning and losing, and all of the top 10 teams are doing it.”
New redacted emails from suspended coach Bev Priestman suggest drone spying may be commonplace, with one saying “all the top 10 teams do this.” The revelations came just days after the Canadian women’s team beat Colombia in a crucial match to reach the Olympic knockout stage.
The Canadian team unsuccessfully appealed the FIFA points deduction.
Priestman, Mander and Lombardi were ordered to return home from the Olympics by the Canadian Olympic Committee, and FIFA subsequently banned them from all football activities for one year. The Canadian Soccer Association did not appeal the suspensions.
Priestman was the head coach of the Canadian women’s team when they won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
FIFA has said it will investigate further espionage allegations, starting with the Olympics incident.
Despite the six-point penalty, Canada also beat France and Colombia to reach the knockout stage, where Germany beat them in a penalty shootout last Saturday in the quarterfinals.
