In the latest episode of U.S. Soccer’s soap opera, it was reported that Giovanni Reyna’s parents, Claudio and Danielle, were the ones behind alerting the federation of a domestic violence incident involving USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter and his then-girlfriend (now wife) in 1991 where he kicked her in the legs at a bar.
Claudio, who played with Berhalter on the USMNT from 1994-2006, was team captain at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and is currently sporting director for Austin FC in MLS.
In a statement posted on Tuesday, Berhalter alleged that he was being blackmailed by someone who “had information about me that would ‘take me down'” unless he resigned from the men’s national team. Berhalter instead went public with what happened and left things to U.S. Soccer, who hired an independent group to investigate. Claudio denies blackmailing Berhalter.
The catalyst for how we got here was that Gio wasn’t getting playing time at the World Cup. While Berhalter claimed Gio was “injured” at the time, Gio said he was healthy and everyone was puzzled why one of the best players on the team wasn’t playing. After the World Cup, it was revealed that Reyna had been benched due to a lack of effort during training. Reyna apologized and made amends with the team before it got to a point where he was sent home, but Berhalter told a panel about the incident while withholding Gio’s name.
It’s a story that probably won’t end anytime soon, and many weighed in.
Claudio Reyna was really out here watching his son not get minutes like this https://t.co/GWZk4gfTz9 pic.twitter.com/ZJUBu75mMp
— Mark Yesilevskiy (@MarkWhyy) January 4, 2023
“Are you kidding me, Claudio Reyna?! Blackmailing the coach of your ADULT son because you think he deserves more playing time?! That’s a REAL bad look. Not impressed.” –@Lthendr
“same claudio reyna who did nothing while david villa was sexually harassing an intern when he was sporting director? fascinating.” –@couldbexav
“We need a Ryan Murphy miniseries about Greg and Claudio Reyna yesterday” –@michaeljchiara
“Weston McKennie’s dad continued to support Gregg Berhalter when his son had to deal with some level of public embarrassment related Weston showing a lack of professionalism. Claudio Reyna was a player, works in the sport and SHOULD know better… Well, he resorted to blackmail.” –@ClayLaSoul
About Phillip Bupp
Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.
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