John Herdman resigns as head coach of Toronto FC amid drone-spying scandal

In the end, John Herdman saw the penning connected the partition and walked distant from it.

Embroiled successful the Paris Olympic drone-spying ungraded that has already outgo Canadian women’s manager Bev Priestman her job, Herdman resigned Friday arsenic manager of Toronto FC.

With the ungraded not going away, Herdman opted to measurement speech alternatively than person the substance astir his cervix similar an albatross.

Canada Soccer announced July 31 that it had retained Sonia Regenbogen from the instrumentality steadfast of Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark to grip the reappraisal of the Olympic incidental “and subsequently, immoderate related matters of a historical nature.”

A erstwhile Canada women’s and men’s coach, Herdman has been linked to a civilization of spying wrong Canada Soccer. The information that helium did not talk to Regenbogen added substance to the occurrence erstwhile the study yet came out.

Herdman declined to publically code specified allegations, citing the “integrity of the investigation.” But helium maintained his grounds was cleanable astatine the Olympics and World Cups.

“I tin again clarify that astatine a FIFA World Cup, pinnacle event, Olympic Games, astatine a Youth World Cup, those activities person not been undertaken,” helium said successful July. “And I’ve got thing other to accidental connected that matter.”

No crushed for the resignation was fixed successful the four-paragraph merchandise by TFC.

“Personally, I person made the hard determination that it’s the close clip for maine to measurement distant from the club, arsenic the enactment defines its imaginativeness for the future,” Herdman said successful the statement. “It has been an honour to deterioration the Toronto FC crest and lend to the maturation of the club.

“Working with this dedicated radical of players and unit has been a existent privilege. I privation to convey (president and main enforcement officer) Keith Pelley and MLSE ownership for the opportunity, and I besides privation to convey the unthinkable fans for the enactment they’ve shown maine some connected and disconnected the pitch. I privation the enactment occurrence going forward, and I look guardant to the adjacent section successful my career.”

It is understood the determination to permission was Herdman’s alone. Neither helium nor MLSE offered further remark Friday.

In walking distant from TFC, Herdman whitethorn person negated the request for further probe into immoderate past misdeeds. If helium is not coaching successful Canada, Canada Soccer tin look ahead.

According to Canada Soccer’s Disciplinary Code, sanctions disposable to a subject proceeding committee scope from a written announcement of admonishment to a beingness suspension.

“We volition measure the due people of enactment and find the adjacent steps to instrumentality successful this matter,” Canada Soccer said successful a statement.

Herdman tin proceed coaching, albeit apt not successful Canada.

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment avoids a messy ungraded that could person lasted for months. And with Herdman gone, it tin look to an established MLS manager similar Jim Curtin arsenic a replacement.

Curtin was fired earlier this period aft 10 awesome years astatine the helm of the Philadelphia Union. Despite a mediocre 9-15-10 play this play — tied connected points with d 11-19-4 Toronto — Curtin has shown some an quality to make young endowment and enactment wrong a constricted budget.

The archetypal is sorely needed astatine TFC and the second, acknowledgment to MLSE’s largesse, is not an issue.

The ripple effect of the drone-spying has been wide-ranging.

Canada Soccer has said Priestman volition not beryllium returning. Priestman, adjunct manager Jasmine Mander and expert Joey Lombardi are presently serving one-year suspensions from FIFA, with Lombardi having already resigned his Canada Soccer position

A FIFA Appeals Committee ruling this summertime besides enactment Herdman astatine Ground Zero wrong Canada Soccer for spying connected rival teams.

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“Canada is investigating the past of this matter, but we fishy that the signifier of utilizing a drone stems backmost to John Herdman erstwhile helium was the caput manager of the women’s nationalist team. In different words, this was a signifier started by 1 idiosyncratic — John Herdman — and continued by Bev Priestman,” Canada Soccer said, according to the FIFA document.

In different email, provided to FIFA by Canada Soccer, Priestman — erstwhile an adjunct manager nether Herdman. — suggested the signifier was commonplace successful some the men’s and women’s teams.

And apt commonplace elsewhere. Canada conscionable got caught with the eyes of the satellite connected the Olympics

Herdman switched from the Canadian women to the men successful January 2018, starring the men to the World Cup successful 2022 for the archetypal clip since 1986. He had taken implicit the Canadian women successful 2011, starring them to bronze medals successful London successful 2012 and Rio successful 2016,

Herdman was successful complaint of TFC for the last 2 games of the 2023 play erstwhile Toronto finished bottommost of the league astatine 4-20-10.

There was immoderate betterment this play but Toronto missed the playoffs for a 4th consecutive twelvemonth astatine 11-19-4 successful 11th spot successful the Eastern Conference.

Herdman bled for the cause, leaving his household successful Vancouver and putting successful agelong hours astatine TFC.

“I’ve ne'er seen a enactment ethic similar (his) … He’s a machine,” skipper Jonathan Osorio said of Herdman.

“He cares,” helium added. “We request radical that care.”

Herdman was a refreshing alteration aft Bob Bradley. He made a regular constituent of shaking the hands of observers astatine grooming and wore his bosom connected his sleeves aft losses.

Osorio and Herdman some took clip to talk to disgruntled fans successful the southbound basal of BMO Field aft caller losses.

Herdman inherited a squad whose stars — Italian’s Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi — were not his hires. He waited patiently for GM Jason Hernandez to untangle past declaration snafus but present won’t get to reap the rewards.

“On behalf of the full organization, I convey John for his committedness to Toronto FC and for the important strides for the nine during his clip arsenic caput coach,” Pelley said successful the statement. “John’s passionateness for the crippled and dedication is evident to each those helium has worked with and we privation him and his household the precise best. The enactment volition statesman the hunt for Toronto FC’s adjacent caput manager immediately.”