Soccer: Former Canada Soccer head apologizes to Christine Sinclair, regrets incident

Former Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis does not remember using insulting language towards Christine Sinclair when she brought the women’s soccer team’s concerns to him but has apologized for the incident, he said on Thursday.

Sinclair, the world’s all-time leading international goal scorer, appeared before a parliamentary committee three weeks ago to speak about pay equity, equal treatment and other issues surrounding Canada Soccer.

Sinclair said she raised her concerns to Bontis during a meeting last year and he referred back to them later in the gathering as; “What was it Christine was bitching about?”

Bontis addressed the incident during his opening remarks to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that concerns, among other things, Canada Soccer’s relationship with its players and financial dealings.

“While I do not recall using the language she referenced, I don’t dispute it and my exact choice of words is not the point,” said Bontis. “What matters is that she felt I treated he concerns disrespectfully.