Former Canada manager Herdman confident his teams did not spy with drones
Herdman said he would cooperate with Canada Soccer's internal review of drone spying allegations that led to Canadian women's manager Bev Priestman's suspension from the Paris Games and cast the reigning Olympic champions' title defence in an unsavory light.
But Herdman declined to provide details of his experiences managing Canada's national teams from 2011 until his departure to coach Toronto FC in 2023.
"I'm highly confident that in my time as a head coach at an Olympic Games or World Cup, we've never been involved in any of those activities," Herdman told reporters.
"I've always gone into Olympic Games, World Cups, big events, with integrity in mind and the ability to compete at the highest level, following the rules and processes. So from my side, I'll help Canada Soccer where I can with that review."
Herdman managed Canada's women's team at the London Olympics in 2012 and the Rio games in 2016, as well as the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015. He also headed the men's national team at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
The drone scandal has engulfed the women's tournament.
Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive officer David Shoemaker said on Friday that head coach Priestman was likely to have been aware that drones were used to spy on opponents' practices in France.
Global soccer's governing body FIFA has launched its own investigation of Canada Soccer amid allegations that such spying activity has been ongoing for years.
Canada great Sinclair: 'We were never shown drone footage'
Christine Sinclair also said on Friday national team players were never shown drone footage during the more than two decades she was on the team, following a spying scandal that cast a shadow over the Canadians at the Paris Games.
New Zealand complained that Canada staff flew drones over their training sessions before their opening fixture at the Olympics, which the Canadians won 2-1.
The incident caused head coach Bev Priestman to be suspended by Canada Soccer, the sport's national governing body, and sent home from the Games.
"It's unfortunate that the players from our national team have had to play through condemnable actions by some of their staff as they attempt to defend our gold medal," Sinclair, soccer's all-time leading international scorer, wrote on Instagram.
"I want to be clear that having been a national team player for 23 years, we were never shown or discussed drone footage in team or individual meetings I've been present for."
Sinclair, part of the gold medal-winning team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, retired from international soccer last year after winning 331 caps and scoring 190 goals.
