Soccer Has Its Own Spygate Scandal And an Olympic Team Is Paying a Heavy Price

Participants in the Paris Olympics are being sent home, but one quick exit has nothing to do with dashed gold medal dreams — and everything to do with lost integrity.

This week, Canada women’s soccer’s illegal spying on opponents came to light after New Zealand issued a complaint about a drone flying over its training session. The drone was traced back to a Canada team staffer, sparking an immediate investigation by FIFA and impromptu internal damage control by the Canadian Olympic Committee.

On Saturday, Canada’s shocking Spygate scandal resulted in severe penalties with head coach Bev Priestman being banned for a year by FIFA. Also, the Canadians were docked six points in the current Olympic women’s soccer tournament, hampering their chances of defending their Olympic crown.

Turns out, the Canadian women aren’t the only ones who’ve employed drone spying tactics. The Canadian men have done it, too.

Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue broke his silence Friday and admitted that the national teams have used drones to spy on opponents at other major tournaments — including an attempt by the Canadian men at this year’s Copa America (which newly appointed head coach Jesse Marsch reportedly rejected). Blue called the “deeply embedded systemic culture” of illegal scouting “completely unacceptable.”

The shocking developments lead to the obvious larger question: How long has the drone spying been going on?

The Canada women won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021. The Canada men finished first in CONCACAF qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. Did any drone spying aid the teams’ success?

Some Canadian soccer standouts have taken to social media to provide clarity and plead their innocence.

All-time leading scorer Christine Sinclair wrote on Instagram that she and her teammates “were never shown or discussed drone footage in team or individual meetings I’ve been present for.” Stephanie Labbé, the starting goalkeeper on Canada’s Tokyo Games championship squad, posted on X that “NO DRONE FOOTAGE was watched.”

A white-hot spotlight has been placed on John Herdman, who served as head coach for Canada’s women (2011-2018) and Canada’s men (2018-2023). Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Real Salt Lake coach said he would assist with Canada soccer federation’s investigation.

“From my side, I’ll help Canada Soccer where I can with that review,” Herdman said. “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.”