Members of Canada women’s coaching staff “objected” to requests to fly drones over opposition training sessions in the two years before the scandal which engulfed the team at Paris 2024.

An independent external investigation into the illegal use of drones, commissioned by Canada Soccer, found that one coach raised concerns “several times” between 2022 and 2024.

Two of Canada’s coaching staff were sent home during the Olympic Games for flying a drone over a training session held by New Zealand, their opponents in a group game, while national team coach Beverly Priestman was removed from her duties.

Priestman was suspended by Canada Soccer shortly after the incident and the governing body said on Tuesday the 38-year-old Englishwoman will not return to the role.

“The search for a new head coach for the women’s national team will commence shortly,” it said in a statement.

The names of those who raised the objections have been redacted from the transcripts released as part of the findings, to comply with privacy laws and with confidentiality commitments.

The report concluded the drone footage was not viewed by any of Canada women’s national team players.

Two of the women’s national team coaches “directed acts of improper surveillance predating the 2024 Paris Olympics”, but “no evidence was found” that it took place at the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games where Canada won gold.

The investigation, conducted by Sonia Regenbogen of law firm Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark, has prompted Canada Soccer to promise operational and structural changes.

These include contractually mandated reporting of unethical behaviour and new software to facilitate confidential reporting, plus education regarding Canada Soccer’s code of conduct and ethics.

Canada Soccer chief executive Kevin Blue said: “The findings of the independent investigator reveal that the drone incident in Paris was a symptom of a past pattern of an unacceptable culture and insufficient oversight within the national teams.

“We are working to change Canada Soccer into a federation that Canadians trust and are proud of, and one that is not defined by unfortunate actions of the past.”​

Michael van Gerwen failed to make it through to the Grand Slam of Darts last 16 after a 5-4 defeat by Ryan Joyce.

The Dutchman twice battled back from two legs down in the Group G decider but failed to check out at 112 on his throw and Joyce nailed 80 to seal victory.

It is the first time since 2010 that three-time world champion Van Gerwen has not made it to the knockout stage of the tournament.

Luke Littler narrowly missed a nine-dart finish as he cruised through as the unbeaten winner of Group F with a 5-3 win over Lourence Ilagan.

The Wolverhampton crowd were on their feet when 17-year-old Littler nailed seven consecutive treble 20s and a treble 19, but he missed double 12.

Elsewhere, Dimitri van den Bergh finished runner-up to Littler after a 5-1 demolition of Keane Barry while Mike De Decker claimed a 5-0 whitewash over Michael Smith to secure second spot in Group E.

Stephen Bunting booked his place in the last 16 with a 5-2 win over Josh Rock in Group H.

Gary Anderson defeated Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-2 to finished with three wins to top Group G.

WE’RE just days away from Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson – and fight week is already hotting up.

Tyson, 58, hasn’t fought on four years and will have all eyes on him as he returns against The Problem Child.

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Counting down to Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson…

READ MORE on all the build-up to the massive clash in Texas on Netflix…

Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson: Betting tips, odds

Paul beat up former UFC star Mike Perry in the summer, when the Tyson fight was originally supposed to happen, were it not for the boxing legend’s health issues.

The pair will meet a couple more times before Friday night’s fight, at the press conference and at the weigh-ins.

And we have all the details on how to watch both.

When is the Paul vs Tyson press conference and weigh-in?

• Paul vs Tyson will meet to exchange words for the final time at the press conference on Wednesday, November 13.
• The presser will start at 7pm ET/midnight GMT on November 14 in the UK.
• The weigh-in will take place on November 14 at the same time.
• Both the press conference and the weigh-in will be shown live on Most Valuable Promotions’ YouTube channel and Netflix’s YouTube channel for FREE.
• You can live stream all the action from the YouTube app, which is available for download onto your mobile or tablet device.

Paul vs Tyson card

Paul’s clash with Tyson is the main event, but there are some cracking fights on the undercard too.

Katie Taylor comes up against Amanda Serrano in a massive rematch for the former’s undisputed light-weight titles.

Mario Barrios is also defending his welterweight world title against Abel Ramos.

• Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson – Heavyweight
• Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano – for IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO women’s super-lightweight titles
• Mario Barrios vs. Abel Ramos – for WBC welterweight title
• Neeraj Goyat vs. Whindersson Nunes – Super-middleweight
• Shadasia Green vs Melinda Watpool – for women’s WBO super-middleweight title
• Lucas Bahdi vs. Armando Casamonica – super lightweight 
• Bruce Carrington vs Dana Coolwell – featherweight

It’s out with the new and in with the old – at least for now.

Ahead of Saturday’s UFC 309 card at Madison Square Garden in New York, competing fighters and their teams were notified the old-style gloves will be used rather than the new-style ones that were implemented June 1.

Three people with knowledge of the situation told MMA Junkie teams were notified Tuesday, though reasoning for the decision to revert is unclear. Ariel Helwani was first to report the change.

The new-style gloves have been used by the promotion in every event since June 1. In the initial revelation of the glove design, the promotion touted better construction, fitting, and material. The motives for the changes included an attempt to prevent eye pokes and broken hands.

Since the implementation of the new-style gloves, fans and media members have questioned if the design has lead to a decrease in knockouts and TKOs.

According to data compiled by MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, the knockout rate from the start of 2021 to the mid-year change in 2024 was fairly consistent, hovering around the 31-34 percent range.

Since the implementation, however, the knockout rate has dropped to 22.9 percent. The decision rate has increased 11.5 percent.

Following UFC 303 on June 29, a card during which there were five TKOs/knockouts, UFC CEO Dana White was asked about the change in design and it’s potential contribution to a lack of stoppages and admitted he was unsure.

However, in an interview with TNT Sports ahead of UFC 308 in October, White seemed a little less eager to credit the correlation.

“Who the hell knows?,” White said. “Who can really gauge that? … I don’t think… I haven’t even thought about that. The fact anybody is even talking about that is actually kind of silly, that there would be less knockouts because of the gloves. I’ve seen plenty of knockouts since the new gloves.

At the time of publication, MMA Junkie has not received a response from the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) to an inquiry checking if the glove changes were due to potential regulatory statutes. This story will be updated should comment be received.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Mark Williams progressed to the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions tournament by defeating Kyren Wilson 6-5 in Tuesday’s Group Two final.

Wilson came back from 5-3 down to force a decider but Williams did enough to secure victory over the reigning world champion.

Williams, the world number six, went 3-2 up after breaks of 109 and 72, only for England’s Wilson to draw level with a century of his own.

The Welshman then produced runs of 140 and 71 to restore a two-frame advantage in Bolton, but world number two Wilson replied with a 123.

A break of 56 put Williams on the brink of victory in the 10th frame, and although Wilson hit 58 to keep the match alive, Williams did enough to ensure he marched on.

Earlier, Williams beat China’s Bai Yulu, the women’s world champion, in the group semi-finals.

Although the women’s world number four, 21, levelled things up at 1-1, Williams won the next three frames to clinch a 4-1 victory, his highest break of 92 coming in the opener.

Wilson also won his first match on Tuesday 4-1, hitting two centuries against Belgium’s Luca Brecel to romp to victory after the 2023 world champion took the first frame.

Williams follows Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen into the semi-finals of the invitational tournament, where 16 players are divided into four groups of four.

The winners of each group contest the semi-finals and the winner of Sunday’s final will collect a first prize of £150,000.

There’s no denying how tough it is to win a UFC championship, but historically it might be even tougher to reclaim a UFC title after losing it.

Brandon Moreno, who held the UFC flyweight title just a year ago, is on a mission to regain what was once his after making his return earlier this month and dominating top contender Amir Albazi in the main event of UFC Fight Night 246. It was an impressive showing from Moreno (22-8-2 MMA, 10-5-2 UFC) that got his fans hopeful in his ability to compete at the championship level.

“The Assassin Baby” has set his sights again on UFC gold, and he’s confident he can once again rule the division.

“Right now I’m very focused on the title,” Moreno told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I seriously think that I can become champion again, especially after the showing that I had (against Albazi), so I’m going to stay on that path.”

Moreno lost the UFC flyweight title in July 2023, coming up short in a split decision against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290. He then dropped another split decision to Brandon Royval in February before announcing a break from MMA competition that lasted eight months.

The 30-year-old is happy to be back in the win column, but he knows there’s work to be done before he can realistically get a crack at the title.

“Being very honest with myself, I think that sporting wise, Royval is likely the one who most deserves the opportunity,” Moreno said of the title picture at flyweight. “I have no problem saying that at all. He’s done a very good job, and in his last fight against Tatsura (Taira), he looked very good. It was a great fight. There’s also Kai (Kara France), but he’s in a very weird position because I do think he can deserve it, he did have an incredible knockout against (Steve) Erceg, but I think my performance was very good, and Royval is right there, too. I think Kai has the most awkward position.

“So for me, I think I need to do one more fight. And as far as names, there’s Tatsuro Taira, Manel Kape is there, as well. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Kai Asakura – if he loses (to Pantoja at UFC 310), that can be an option. So I’m just going to be ready for whatever comes next. I’m just going to keep healthy and stay ready.”