Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander of the Canada women’s football team used a drone to spy on New Zealand during the Olympics 2024
The Canada Women’s National Team is currently under scrutiny after one of their assistant coaches Joseph Lombardi was caught spying on the New Zealand Women’s National Team, using a drone during their training sessions.
The shocking incident come just right ahead of their Paris Olympics 2024 Group A opener match.
Who are Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander of the Canada women’s football team caught spying on New Zealand using drone during Paris Olympics 2024
Canada manager Bev Priestman was previously blamed for the incident but after further investigations, Joseph Lombardi and Mander emerged as the culprist.
Mander is the assistant coach to whom Lombardi reported and she is a 29-year-old from Richmond, B.C. She was an assistant on the 2021 gold medal-winning team in Tokyo and a former kinesiology student at the University of British Columbia, Mander began her coaching career as a teenager, attending a FIFA regional coaching workshop in Canada in 2014.
Mander’s brother, Amar Mander, is reportedly a team physiotherapist for the New Zealand women’s team.
Joseph Lombardi caught spying with a drone
Ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics opening soccer match between Canada WNT and the New Zealand WNT, Canadian coaching staff and team analyst Joseph Lombardi was caught and arrested for spying on the opposing team during one of their training sessions. According to a statement from the New Zealand Olympic Committee, Jitka Klimkova’s side had reported to police after they spotted a drone flying near their training ground. The French authorities eventually responded and quickly detained the pilot, who was later identified as Lombardi.
Joseph Lombardi bio
Joseph Lombardi is a Canadian soccer coach who was born on May 24, 1981 in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Lombardi is one of the coaching staff members of the Canadian WNT, working as a technical coach under Bev Priestman. Joseph earned his Canada Soccer Coaching B Diploma in 2006, and then his Canada Soccer Coaching A Diploma in 2009.
Age and height
Joseph Lombardi is currently 43 years old and stands at a height of 173 cm.
Career
After obtaining his coaching certifications, Lombardi served as a regional coach with the Ontario Soccer Association, He later served as a coach for the Canada Soccer women’s national youth program in 2012. During this time, he made contributions to six FIFA youth tournaments from 2012 to 2022.
He also notably served as a part of the team staff at the latest FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand back in 2023. Lombardi was most recently serving as a technical coach under Bev Priestman for the Canada Women’s national team. Aside from his roles with the WNT, Lombardi has also worked for the CanMNT. He served under former coach John Herdman and Eric Tenllado for the U15s.
Joseph Lombardi charges and consequences
Paris authorities have previously issued a strict no-drone flying policy around the city and some specific places. As such, the French police have booked Joseph Lombardi for “flying an unmanned aircraft over a prohibited area.” Moreover, Lombardi himself admitted to the wrongdoing. Following the turn of events, authorities have sentenced to 8 months in jail along with a €45,000 fine.
Interestingly, the Canadian coach had previously flew the drone on July 19 as well. Following further investigations, authorities found out that another assistant coach named Jasmine Mander was also involved. As a result, she got removed from the team. Jasmine is a native of Richmond, B.C. and played a key role in the 2021 gold medal-winning team in Tokyo.