Beverly Priestman returns from spying ban to join Wellington Phoenix

“That’s being brutally honest. It was very difficult for my family, and I have to live with that.

“Obviously it was an absolute media frenzy. You’ve got people knocking at your door and everything, and I’ve got a little boy. Without going into too much detail, it was very difficult. We knew we had to get out of that country.”

As well as a one-year ban, Priestman was given an eight-month suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to flying a drone in an urban area without a licence.

In her absence, Canada made it out of the group stages at the Olympics – despite being docked six points for the incident.

They were knocked out by Germany on penalties at the quarter-final stage.

Priestman, who served as Phil Neville’s assistant for two years with England’s women, guided Canada to Olympic gold at Tokyo in 2021.