"Do not confuse great goal keeping with cheating" - Former Canadian soccer player Stephanie Labbé reacts to 'drone use' controversy at Paris Olympics

Defending the Canadian women's soccer team's victory at the Paris Olympics, former Canadian goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé spoke about the alleged drone spying scandal that cost the team's manager Beverly Priestman her position as head coach. The Canadian soccer team was accused of using drones to access their opponent's strategies at the Paris Games.

The Canadian Olympic Committee took disciplinary action against Priestman and she won't be a part of the team for the remainder of the Paris Olympics. The scandal unfolded when a drone was caught flying over New Zealand's practice session before their match against Canada. Canada then defeated New Zealand 2-1 on Thursday, July 25. The Canadian side was later accused of cheating to gain strategic advantages over their opponents.

However, retired goalkeeper Labbé, who was a part of the Canadian team that clinched the gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, defended the team. She wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"If anyone wants to speak about pks. i studied HARD the night before every match. Watched video of players taking pks in national team and club games. Made my own educated guesses based on that info. NO DRONE FOOTAGE was watched. Do not confuse great goalkeeping with cheating."

Apart from Priestman, two other staffers, including Jasmine Mander, the assistant coach of the team, and Joseph Lombardi, who was said to be an "unaccredited analyst," were sent back home this week. David Shoemaker, the CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee, said that Priestman claimed she was unaware of her staff's actions.

While suspending the coach from the Paris Olympics, Kevin Blue, the CEO of Canada Soccer, released a statement (via The Washington Post):

"Over the past 24 hours, additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”

"In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer has made the decision to suspend Women’s National Soccer Team Head Coach, Bev Priestman for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and until the completion of our recently announced independent external review," he added.

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Beverly Priestman took responsibility for the Paris Olympics incident

Canada v New Zealand: Women's Football - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day -1 - Source: Getty

Beverly Priestman was anticipated to lead the Canadian team to the Olympic podium for the second consecutive time at the Paris Olympics. However, the recent incident has raised eyebrows about her coaching methods.

The England-born coach took responsibility for her staff's wrongdoings and said (via BBC Sport):

"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. I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program."

Andy Spence will be replacing her as the coach of the team for the remainder of the Paris Olympics.