The 1989 World Cup Bar Event in Berhalter’s Name: A Memorandum of a Longtime Football Team Member and a Close Family Member
The USA Soccer Federation was given information about a long time ago involving the head coach of the American men’s soccer team during the World Cup by the mother of a player.
In her statement on Wednesday, Danielle Reyna said that Berhalter’s descriptions of the bar incident “significantly minimize the abuse on the night in question,” though she did not provide more detail. She added that she had reached out to Stewart, a longtime friend, “in confidence” and did not expect that her comments to him would trigger an investigation. And she said she had not asked for Berhalter to be fired.
The same day, remarks by Berhalter at leadership conference emerged in which Berhalter described difficulties with an unnamed player who “was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field.” The player apologized after the team leaders encouraged him to do so, he said. The comments were seen as saying about Reyna, even though Berhalter did not name him.
She felt personally betrayed by the actions of someone her family had considered a friend for decades. “I thought it would be unfair that Gio was being dragged through the mud because he had apologized for acting immaturely but hadn’t gotten forgiveness for doing things worse than him at the same age,” she said.
The Tuesday statement shared by the two people that signed it, described the incident in 1991 in which Berhalter kicked his future wife during a heated argument.
In a separate statement, Claudio Reyna acknowledged sending messages to U.S. soccer officials about his son’s limited playing time during the World Cup. He denied making threats. “At no time did I ever threaten anyone, nor would I ever do so,” he said.
Soccer Coach Berhalter Allegations During the 2009 World Cup: I’m So Glad That I Can Help Them. I Have to Give Up
When the allegation of Berhalter’s behavior came to light, the U.S. Soccer Federation immediately hired a law firm to conduct an investigation.
As that investigation unfolded, U.S. soccer officials learned of “potentially inappropriate communication and behavior from third parties towards U.S. staff,” a federation official said Wednesday. That is now part of the investigation.
“Obviously, this is not an ideal time for soccer in this country and the men’s national team.” And it’s a tough time for the families involved,” said Cindy Parlow Cone, the federation’s president. “I’m just hopeful that we can find resolution to this quickly and move forward with our men’s team.”
“One night, when out drinking at a local bar, Rosalind and I had a heated argument that continued outside. It became physical and I kicked her in the legs,” he said. “I sought out counseling to help learn, grow and improve because I wanted to do it myself, even though the authorities were not involved in the matter.” To this day, that type of behavior has never been repeated.”
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/01/04/1146963435/soccer-coach-berhalter-allegations-gio-reyna
The U.S. Men’s Soccer Coach in Charge: Anthony Reyna apologizes to Earnie and the World Coaches
The problems between the both of them were caused by the 20-year-old son of the couple, who is a member of the U.S. men’s national team.
On Dec. 12, he apologized. “I fully acknowledge that I let my emotions get the best of me and affect my training and behavior for a few days after learning about my limited role,” Reyna wrote on his Instagram. I apologized to my teammates and coach, and I was told I was forgiven.
When I called Earnie, I didn’t know when or if the trashing of Gio on social media would stop, as a number of people were trashing him at the time. She said she wanted to make sure there would be no more unwarranted attacks on her son.
The interim head coach will be appointed during the investigation. Anthony Hudson, 41, previously served as an assistant coach for the men’s team. He will lead the squad for a pair of international friendlies scheduled for this month.
“In the past, the customary review of the past four years of the entire program following a World Cup would begin in the summer, well ahead of any year-end contract expiration,” the federation said in a statement.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/01/04/1146963435/soccer-coach-berhalter-allegations-gio-reyna
Berhalter rehiring status after the commissioning process has been completed, officials tells the AP-Newton e-newspaper
Until both the investigation and review are complete, Berhalter is still under consideration to be rehired for the job, officials said Wednesday. “We have agreed we need to let the investigation play out before we can make any determinations there,” said JT Batson, the organization’s CEO and secretary general.