Canada soccer staffer given 8-month suspended prison sentence for Olympics drone controversy

A staff member of the Canada women’s soccer team was given a suspended eight-month prison sentence after French authorities arrested the man for flying a drone over Auguste Dury Stadium on Monday and filming two closed-door training sessions of the New Zealand women’s soccer team. 

Canada Soccer analyst Joseph Lombardi, 43, was taken into custody where he admitted to the charges, which included filming a similar session over the weekend. He identified himself as an independent sports analyst for the Canadian federation, according to the Saint-Etienne prosecutor’s office.

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) released a statement identifying Lombardi as "an unaccredited analyst with Canada Soccer." 

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"The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair-play and we are shocked and disappointed. We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee."

The COC implemented its own sanctions, which included sending Lombardi home and removing him from the Canadian Olympic team. Jasmine Mander, an assistant coach, was subject to the same discipline.

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Staff will also be required to undergo mandatory ethics training, and head coach Bev Priestman opted to sit out of Canada’s first match on Thursday.

"On behalf of our entire team, I first and foremost want to apologize to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada. This does not represent the values that our team stands for," Priestman said in a statement provided by the COC. 

"I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program. Accordingly, to emphasize our team’s commitment to integrity, I have decided to voluntarily withdraw from coaching the match on Thursday. In the spirit of accountability, I do this with the interests of both teams in mind and to ensure everyone feels that the sportsmanship of this game is upheld."

Canada is the defending gold medal winner; they defeated Sweden in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They won Thursday’s match over New Zealand, 2-1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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