The U.S. Soccer Federation revealed Tuesday it is investigating men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter for a 1991 confrontation in which he kicked the woman who later became his wife.
The federation said it learned of the allegation on Dec. 11 and hired the law firm Alston & Bird to investigate. The USSF said Berhalter and his wife Rosalind had “spoken openly” about the matter, and Berhalter admitted to the kick in a statement Tuesday.
“Through this process, U.S. Soccer has learned about potential inappropriate behaviour towards multiple members of our staff by individuals outside of our organization,” the USSF said, adding the investigation also includes those allegations.
The USSF said it will announce “in the coming days” who will coach the team for exhibitions against Serbia on Jan. 25 and Colombia three days later. These are the first matches for the Americans since they were eliminated by the Netherlands last month in the World Cup round of 16.
Berhalter’s statement said: “There are zero excuses for my actions that night; it was a shameful moment and one that I regret to this day.”
Berhalter, 51, was hired in December, 2018. He has led the team to 37 wins, 11 losses and 12 draws, and the Americans earned the third and final automatic World Cup berth from the North and Central American and Caribbean region.