Review says Canada Soccer mishandled sexual assault allegations against coach

An independent review has concluded that Canada Soccer "mishandled" sexual harassment allegations in 2008 against then under-20 women's coach Bob Birarda, who is currently awaiting sentencing on sexual assault charges.

The 125-page report by McLaren Global Sport Solution, commissioned by Canada Soccer, paints a picture of a governing body "described by many as being dysfunctional and inefficient," with "significant leadership upheaval and transition at the highest levels" in 2007 and 2008.

It concludes a "complete lack of familiarity" with the harassment policy amongst Canada Soccer senior officials in 2008 and that "harassment was not a priority issue amongst the senior CSA (Canadian Soccer Association) leadership team" at the time.

And it suggested that Canada Soccer just wanted the issue to go away at the time.

"The CSA press release that characterized Birarda's departure [in 2008] as being in the mutual interest of both parties without so much as addressing the harassment was a gross mischaracterization of the circumstances and failed the victims of the harassment, their teammates, and the organization as a whole," the report says.

"The leaders of Canada Soccer acknowledged to the IRT (independent review team) that mistakes were made in how the Birarda complaint process was managed and communicated including regrets that "we had taken a silent position on this," it added.

With virtually no oversight, the review says Birarda "abused his position of power to groom, intimidate, threaten, and sexually harass certain players."

"Birarda's behaviour went unchecked because of the siloed nature of the U-20 WNT in Vancouver, poor comprehension of harassment policies and reporting procedures amongst the players on the team, and