Former players want investigation into Vancouver Whitecaps to include Canada Soccer

The soccer players who went publicwith allegations of sexual misconduct against two former high level Canadian women's teamcoaches say investigators hired by Major League Soccer to look into the Vancouver Whitecapsshould also examine the actions of Canada Soccer.

In a statement, the Professional Footballers Association of Canada (PFACan), which represents former Whitecaps women's team players, said both the Whitecaps and Canada Soccer need to answer for a culture of silence and secrecy that allowed Bob Birarda and Hubert Busby Jr. to continue coaching after evidence of their troubling behaviour toward female playerswas brought to light over a decade ago.

"The reality is that apattern of negligent leadership at both Canada Soccer and the Whitecaps left athletes unsafe, andboth organizations failed to take steps to flag the misconduct to other clubs," said the statement.

"Clubs, parents and players had no knowledge orwarning of these coaches' history because there was no system in place to flag misconductand the Whitecaps and Canada Soccer were not transparent to the public about the reasons behindtheir departure."

Last week, MLS announced it had hired the firm Rubin ThomlinsonLLPto investigate the Vancouver Whitecapshandling of Birarda and Busby.

Busby was quietly dismissed from the Whitecaps in 2011 afterplayerMalloree Enoch brought forward complaints of sexual coercion. Players were toldnot to speak publiclyof his departure.

Last week Busby was provisionally suspended as head coach of the the Jamaican women's national teamafter Enoch did an interview with the British publication the Guardian.

In 2008, Birardawas quietly let go from his dual positions asunder-20 Canadian women's national team head coach andWhitecaps women's team head coachafter players complainedof inappropriate behaviour.

In 2019 he was charged with six counts of sexual exploitation, two counts of sexual assault and one count of child luring related to alleged incidents between 1988 and 2008.

Among the seven actions listed in the release,PFACan is asking that the Whitecaps and Canada Soccer agree to provide all relevant documentation to investigators, including any non-disclosure or departure agreements signed with Birarda and Busby.

It also wantsCONCACAF and FIFAto both confirm that Victor Montaglianiwill cooperate with the investigation.

Montagliani, a former president of Canada Soccer and B.C. Soccer, and current president of CONCACAFand vice president of FIFA, has denied he had a key role in Birarda'squiet departure from Canada Soccer in 2008.

A statement from CONCACAFsaid Montagliani was a non-executive board member of Canada Soccerin 2008 when the initial investigation into Birarda was conducted, and that he was not responsible for overseeing national teams.

Montagliani'sLinkedIn profile says from 2005 to 2012 he held the positionof "Vice President; National Teams" at Canada Soccer.

PFACan is also asking the Whitecaps and Canada Soccer to agree to fund one year of mental health services for former players under Birarda or Busby who require help.

On Oct. 23, Soccer Canada announced it had agreed to initiate a "transparent, third-party investigation of allegations against Bob Birardaduring the time he was employed by Canada Soccer," after the 2020 Olympic champion women's soccer team demanded it.