Former MLS coach receives a two-year sentence for sexual offenses

Bob Birarda, former Vancouver Whitecaps and Soccer Canada coach, was sentenced to two years by a North Vancouver Provincial Court judge.

Deanne Gaffar, the judge who admitted the sentence, said Birarda "immeasurably damaged" and violated the sexual integrity of four "young" players, three of whom were under 18 at the time of the offenses.

Birarda will spend nearly 16 months of his sentence in prison, while the remaining eight months will be served in the community under conditions that still had to be imposed after which three years of probation will follow.