Canada Football CEO Kevin Blue addresses cheating scandal

Kevin Blue says they are dealing with a systemic problem but it has nothing to do with the players

Transcript

00:00I do want to make some comments about last night's specific decision to suspend our head

00:06coach pending the outcome of our previously announced independent review.

00:14As part of the steps that we were taking to prepare for this review, yesterday evening

00:22I received new information from internal sources that gave me reason to think further about

00:32the potential that this type of behavior was systemic.

00:37So then I consulted with a number of people, including our colleagues at the COC and with

00:43Peter.

00:45And while we are certainly reserving judgment until the conclusion of our review, the concreteness

00:52of the information I received yesterday made me consider the possibility at least that

00:57this matter is much more extensive.

01:00So we decided to take steps to ensure that our team would be able to compete in this

01:04tournament without any potential questions after the fact about their achievement, or

01:09at least to minimize those questions that come after the fact about their achievement.

01:14The players themselves have not been involved in unethical behavior.

01:18And I think that the swift and significant actions that we have taken to address this

01:24issue hopefully can persuade FIFA that we're treating it with the seriousness that it deserves

01:36and that the players ought not to be penalized in this specific situation, again, considering

01:41they themselves have not been involved in unethical behavior.