The mother of attacker and World Cup goer Giovanni Reyna has revealed that she is the one who informed the United States Soccer Association about the incident in 1991 in which national coach Gregg Berhalter kicked his wife. Danielle Reyna says this in a statement on Wednesday. Berhalter went public earlier in the day with the violent incident, because he said he was being blackmailed. The former player said that someone had reported with “incriminating information” during the World Cup in Qatar.
Berhalter Kicking incident in 1991
The 49-year-old national coach of the American national team said that he kicked his wife Rosalind in the legs in 1991 after an argument. The incident was not reported to authorities. The couple did inform family and friends of the incident. Berhalter also sought help. Reyna, who was a roommate and teammate of Rosalind’s in the past, says in The Athletic that she broached the subject during a conversation with American Federation sporting director Earnie Stewart. That union has now engaged an agency to investigate Berhalter. “I’m sorry the information has become public,” Reyna writes, claiming she knows nothing about blackmail. “It was never my goal to get him to resign. I thought the conversation with Earnie would remain confidential. It didn’t occur to me then that anything I said could lead to an investigation.”
Conversation between Reyna and Stewart
The conversation between Reyna and Stewart took place after the United States’ elimination from the World Cup in Qatar. At the time, Berhalter was critical of a player he did not name. It soon turned out that it was Giovanni Reyna. He was almost sent home for bad attitude and had to apologise. “I wanted Earnie to know I was furious about how Gio was portrayed in such a bad light,” Reyna writes in the statement. “I personally felt betrayed by someone I’ve considered a friend of my family for decades.” “I also thought it was unfair that Gio had to apologize for his behavior when at that age Gregg was forgiven for something much worse. Rosalind was my roommate, teammate and best friend. It took her a long time to forgive Gregg.”
Still together
Berhalter is still with Rosalind, who approached him again seven months after the incident. They have now been married for 25 years and have four children. It is still unknown whether Berhalter will stay on as national coach. His contract expired on December 31. Free bets on who will be the next national team managers are still open.