The former assistant coach of Team Canada has for the first time revealed her involvement in the drone spying scandal that rocked the football competition at last year’s Paris Olympics.
During the football tournament in France, it was discovered that Canada had used a drone to spy on a FootballFerns training session in Saint-Etienne.
The New Zealanders reported the drone sighting to police, and its operator was arrested.
Assistant coach Jasmine Mander was also sent home and has now written about her experience in The Players’ Tribune, a sports media company that provides athletes with a platform to connect directly with their fans.
“I realise there are still a lot of questions swirling around about exactly what happened at the Paris Olympics last summer,” Mander wrote.
“It’s taken me more than a year just to open up about it all to people beyond my family and closest friends. But as one of five members of the technical staff at that tournament, I want to set the record straight, take accountability, and tell you my side of the story.”
Football Ferns celebrate scoring against Canada at the Paris Olympics, last year. Photo / Photosport
Mander wrote about receiving a message from the drone operator while he was in police custody and outlined the timeline of the events as they unfolded.
“I definitely could have done more to avoid this scandal for everyone, and I’m sorry that I didn’t, especially as a Canadian,” Mander said.
She then went on to explain why she never raised questions about why they were trying to watch other teams.
Mander said she understood that at some level it was “immoral”, but as a new member of the coaching staff, she thought it might be normal at this level.
“I was 25 when I started at Canada Soccer, and I didn’t want to be that person saying, ‘Guys, listen … should we be doing this?’
“We should never have tried to watch another team train. We’re Canada. We should have played by the rules.”
Canada were deducted six points in the tournament and fined $430,000 while Priestman, Mander and drone operator Joey Lombardi were banned for one year.
New Zealand lost all three games at the Olympic tournament, while Canada won all three and progressed to the quarter-finals, despite having six points deducted. They lost to Germany in the last eight.
