Bev Priestman says she ‘didn't feel safe' in Canada as ban for drone spying scandal ends: ‘We had to get out of that country'

Hamilton Spectator

20 hours ago

Former Canadian women's soccer head coach Bev Priestman says she 'didn't feel safe' in Canada in the month after the
Paris Olympics
, when she was
suspended by FIFA
for her role in the
drone spying scandal
.
Priestman's one-year ban ended this week, and she was
named coach of the Wellington Phoenix FC women's team
in New Zealand on Tuesday. She said relocating to Wellington — where her wife, Emma Humphries, is the club's academy director — helped her get out of the spotlight of the scandal.
'It was very difficult,' Priestman said during her introductory press conference in New Zealand's capital. 'I didn't leave my house for a month in Canada ... For me, I didn't feel safe. That's being brutally honest. I think it was very difficult for my family and, you know, I have to live with that. I have to weigh that.'
Priestman said it was an 'absolute media frenzy' in Canada after the scandal, with people knocking on her door.
'I've got a little boy,' she explained. 'Without going into too much detail, it was very difficult … We knew we had to get out of that country.'
Priestman and two other staffers — assistant Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were suspended by FIFA for a year last July after the team was
caught using drones to spy on New Zealand practices
before the teams met at the Paris Olympics.
FIFA found Priestman discussed the practice of spying on opponents with staffers in the months before the Olympics, and had written in an email 'there is a whole operation on the men's side with regards to it.' The team was also warned on three occasions in the weeks before the opening ceremony that drone use was prohibited at the Games.
Priestman
left the Canadian team
in November after an independent investigation confirmed the incident was 'a symptom of a difficult and unacceptable past culture within the national teams,' Canada Soccer officials said in a statement at the time.
On Tuesday, Priestman said 'things around me had clouded my judgment in that moment' and everyone involved has regrets.
'I've taken that 12 months to reflect, to learn, to grow,' she said. 'It's been very difficult and I'm just excited to put my head down, work hard and get back to work.'