The now-suspended head coach of the Canadian women’s soccer team said in an email last year that “spying” on opponents “can be the difference between winning and losing” and suggested other teams practice it — including the Canadian men’s team.
The email from Bev Priestman was part of an exchange submitted to FIFA by Canada Soccer during disciplinary proceedings after an analyst from the women’s team used a drone to spy on New Zealand’s practice session ahead of a matchup at the Paris Olympics last week. The incident plunged Canada Soccer into a growing ethics scandal in the middle of the Summer Games.
In FIFA’s report summarizing the proceedings, released this week, Canada Soccer told the sport’s governing body the discovery of the exchange led to Priestman’s suspension.
FIFA penalized Canada Soccer for the spying incident by docking six points from the women’s team, as well as levying a $300,000 fine and suspending Priestman and two other staff members for a year. An appeal of the points deduction was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday.
Canada Soccer has launched an investigation into what it has called a potential “systemic ethical shortcoming” within the program related to spying. The organization said Wednesday that an independent external review has begun into the Paris incident, which will also subsequently look at “other issues of this matter, including its history.”
Priestman’s email exchange “shows an analyst resisting a request from Ms. Priestman to engage in flying drones for ‘scouting purposes,’ and thus ‘call(ed) into question whether this practice had been systemically embedded in the culture of the women’s national team,'” FIFA’s report says.
According to the report, Priestman was responding to an email from an unnamed Canadian women’s soccer performance analyst sent on March 20, 2023, following an in-person meeting the day before.
The analyst writes the two had a “spying conversation” and discussed “my reasons for me being unwilling to do this moving forward,” including their moral objections and fearing their reputation was at risk. The analyst concluded by confirming “you will not be asking me to fulfil the role of ‘spying’ in the upcoming camp & future camps.”
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That same day, Priestman forwarded the analyst’s email to another Canada Soccer staffer, whose name is redacted but appears to be in the human resources department.
“Seeking your advice and input here regarding this formal email on spying,” Priestman writes. “It’s something the analyst has always done and I know there is a whole operation on the Men’s side with regards to it.
“Yesterday in a meeting when discussing, I asked to propose a alternative solution as for scouting it can be the difference between winning and losing and all top 10 teams do it. I received this more ‘formal’ email this morning and so just after guidance really as to what from a HR stand point I can do or do I need to find another solution in resourcing?”
FIFA’s report says the emails are the “additional information” alluded to by Canada Soccer in its announcement Thursday evening that suggested Priestman had prior knowledge of alleged team spying operations. The organization said Priestman had been suspended for the remainder of the Paris Games and until the completion of an independent review.
Priestman, who voluntarily removed herself from the opening game against New Zealand after the spying allegation came to light, said the previous day she didn’t direct individuals to spy on New Zealand and was “highly disappointed” to learn of it.
The analyst charged with flying the drone, Joseph Lombardi, told FIFA during its investigation that he flew his personal drone over the New Zealand team’s practice twice, on July 20 and 22, without informing or consulting team staff.
In his statement to the soccer governing body, he said he was non-accredited and “wanted to impress the Canadian Women’s technical staff with informed/accurate analysis to elevate my role for future opportunities with the team.”
“This decision was reckless and negligent on my part, and I take 100% responsibility for what has happened,” Lombardi wrote.
Questions for men's team
Canada Soccer declined to comment directly on Priestman’s remarks in the email exchange regarding a “whole operation” of similar activity by the Canada men’s team. A spokesperson pointed Global News to its Wednesday statement on the launch of the external review.
John Herdman, who was head coach of the men’s team at the time Priestman sent the email and now coaches Toronto FC, told reporters Friday he had no involvement in any alleged spying during his tenure, but provided few specifics when pressed.
“I’ve always gone into Olympic Games, World Cups, big events, with integrity in mind and the ability to compete at the highest level, following the rules and processes,” he said. “So for my side, I’ll help Canada Soccer where I can with that review.
“But I’m highly confident that in my time as a head coach at an Olympic Games or World Cup we’ve never been involved in any of those activities.”
Herdman took over the Canadian women’s team in 2011, switching over to the men’s side in January 2018.
The Canada women’s team won bronze under Herdman at the 2012 Games in London and 2016 Games in Rio. Herdman also took the men’s team to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Herdman also declined to share his thoughts on how prevalent such spying is in world soccer competitions.
“I’ll go through that process with Canada Soccer. I think anything I say now, it’s just going to bring more spotlight to this situation … For me, the integrity of the review’s important and if I’m asked to contribute, I’ll be there.
Asked in an earlier virtual availability Friday about possible similar misbehaviour during Herdman’s tenure as coach, Canada Soccer’s CEO and general secretary Kevin Blue said: “I do expect that the scope of our review will include … an attempt to understand the history of the issue and to the extent that involves our previous employees or previous coaching staff.”
Blue has acknowledged that there was also “an instance of attempted drone usage” during the recent Copa America, and that there was “information that could tarnish” the women’s team’s gold medal win at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 — where Priestman was the head coach for Canada.
—With files from the Canadian Press