Canadian women含羞草研究社檚 soccer coach Bev Priestman removed herself from Thursday含羞草研究社檚 Olympic Games opener against New Zealand and two team staff members were sent home after two drone incidents.

Assistant coach Jasmine Mander, from North Delta, and Canada Soccer analyst Joseph Lombardi were ousted from the soccer team含羞草研究社檚 staff, the Canadian Olympic Committee said Wednesday in a statement in which it accepted Priestman含羞草研究社檚 decision to not coach the opener in Saint-Etienne, France.

The shakeup came after the COC含羞草研究社檚 review of a drone incidents in Saint-Etienne. There were reports that drones flew over New Zealand含羞草研究社檚 practice sessions both Monday and last Friday.

含羞草研究社淚 am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program,含羞草研究社� Priestman said in Wednesday含羞草研究社檚 statement. 含羞草研究社淎ccordingly, to emphasize our team含羞草研究社檚 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.含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淥n 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.含羞草研究社�

The COC also said that Canada Soccer staff will be required to undergo mandatory ethics training.

Canada is the defending Olympic champion in women含羞草研究社檚 soccer after capturing gold three years ago in Tokyo. New Zealand is ranked 28th in the world.

New Zealand含羞草研究社檚 Olympic Committee alerted police after a drone was flown over the women含羞草研究社檚 soccer team practice Monday, and the COC confirmed Tuesday that a 含羞草研究社渘on-accredited含羞草研究社� member of Canada含羞草研究社檚 soccer team staff was detained by French authorities.

The NZOC also registered a complaint with the International Olympic Committee含羞草研究社檚 integrity unit and had asked Canada for a full review.

The COC apologized to the NZOC and that country含羞草研究社檚 soccer federation, stating it was 含羞草研究社渟hocked and disappointed含羞草研究社� over the conduct.

It含羞草研究社檚 not the first time a Canadian soccer team has been involved in a drone controversy involving an international rival含羞草研究社檚 training session.

In 2021 at Toronto, Honduras stopped a training session ahead of its men含羞草研究社檚 World Cup qualifier against Canada after spotting a drone above the field, according to reports in Honduran media. The teams played to a 1-1 draw.

French security forces guarding Paris 2024 sites are intercepting an average of six drones per day, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Tuesday.

Attal added the drones are often operated by 含羞草研究社渋ndividuals, maybe tourists wanting to take pictures.含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淭hat含羞草研究社檚 why it含羞草研究社檚 important to remind people of the rules. There含羞草研究社檚 a ban on flying drones,含羞草研究社� he said, according to multiple news outlets.

含羞草研究社淪ystems are in place to allow us to very quickly intercept (drones) and arrest their operators.含羞草研究社�

READ ALSO:

READ ALSO: