Team USA's star-crossed bid for glory at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is long over -- but the bitter recriminations are still flying.
This week, USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter fessed up to a 1991 domestic incident with his then-girlfriend while they were student-athletes at the University of North Carolina. Berhalter admitted to kicking the woman, now his wife of 25 years with whom he shares four children, in the legs amid a drunken spat at a bar.
Berhalter, whose contract expired at the end of last month, hinted that the leaking of the incident was an attempted "blackmail."
Subsequently, it was reported by ESPN and other outlets that the information was leaked by the mother of US soccer star Gio Reyna -- apparently as retribution for Reyna's minimal playing time in Qatar, and because Berhalter had confirmed soon after the World Cup that a player, later widely reported to be Reyna, was nearly sent home from the World Cup because he "was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field."
On Wednesday, Reyna's mother, Danielle, confirmed in a statement to FOX Sports that she was the source of the leak, which prompted an internal investigation by the US Soccer Federation.
Danielle maintained that she was not seeking for Berhalter to be fired, nor was it an attempted blackmail.
“I want to be very clear that I did not ask for Gregg to be fired," Danielle Reyna said, according to Doug McIntyre of FOX Sports. "I did not make any threats, and I don't know anything about any blackmail attempts."
Reyna's father, Claudio, a former US soccer star who is now an executive with Austin FC of MLS, said he supported his wife's comments. He also said he had expressed concern to US soccer officials about Gio's playing time in Qatar, but had not threatened anyone.
The bizarre developments mark an apparent falling out between Berhalter and Claudio Reyna, whose relationship "spans decades," according to Jeff Carlisle and Kyle Bonagura of ESPN.com. Berhalter and Reyna grew up playing youth and high school soccer together, and they played together for the US national team for over a decade from 1994-06. Their wives were also four-year teammates at the University of North Carolina.
It's unclear what spurred Berhalter's apparent aversion to playing Reyna heavily in Qatar. The Borussia Dortmund star was injured earlier in the year but seemed to be back to full health in the weeks leading up to the Cup. Berhalter had spoken positively about Reyna's game on numerous occasions over the preceding years.
On Tuesday, Berhalter detailed the 1991 incident with his now-wife in a social media post. He said the issue had been raised to the US Soccer Federation by someone touting information that would "'take me down' -- an apparent effort to ... bring about the end of my relationship with U.S. Soccer."
He said he sought counseling after the incident, and authorities were not involved.
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