Christian Pulisic SLAMS ‘extremely childish’ handling of US Soccer scandal

Christian Pulisic has slammed the ‘extremely childish’ handling of the recent US Soccer scandal involving Gregg Berhalter and the Reyna family, which resulted in the former losing his job in charge of the men’s national team.

A wild few months of stunning rumors and bombshell developments began at the World Cup when Gio Reyna was almost sent home for his perceived lack of effort, leading to the release of shocking details and the start of a formal investigation.

Everything came to a head this week when the results of the investigation were released, with details about Reyna’s parents – Claudio and Danielle – sending years of texts, emails and calls to US Soccer chiefs complaining about the treatment and playing time of their son in the international setup.

In response, US soccer’s biggest name – Christian Pulisic – has now given his thoughts, backing former boss Berhalter and calling for an end to the drama.

‘I’m not here to appoint the next manager, it’s not my job, and whoever it is I’m going to play and give it 100%,’ Pulisic told ESPN, from his home in London.

Christian Pulisic has slammed the ‘extremely childish’ US Soccer scandal over the winter

Pulisic backed Gregg Berhalter (center) who still remains in the running for the USA job

Berhalter (right) and Gio Reyna’s (left) lack of World Cup playing time sparked the drama 

‘Everything that happened with Gregg, first of all, has been handled in an extremely childish manner. I think we’ve seen what’s been going on. I think it’s childish, it’s youth soccer, people complaining about playing time. 

‘I don’t want to go too far into that, but I think Gregg has been extremely unfortunate to get into the position he is in now.’

The investigation, ordered by US Soccer, was into a domestic violence incident involving him and his now-wife Rosalind in 1992.

Berhalter admitted to kicking his wife after she hit him in the face in an argument during a night out at a bar when they were 18, and the report deemed it an ‘isolated incident’, with ‘no evidence to suggest’ there were any further issues.

The drama was thrust into the spotlight in the wake of the World Cup when it was revealed Claudio and Danielle Reyna – the parents of player Gio, and former friends of the Berhalters – had notified chiefs of the 1992 incident.

The report said that the Reyna parents spoke to then-US Soccer chief Earnie Stewart on the night of December 11, 2022 to disclose ‘information about Mr. Berhalter… that Mrs. Reyna had known for decades and… the information was disclosed at a time when it would be expected to discourage or otherwise influence the organization from offering a contract extension to Mr. Berhalter.’ 

However, despite these actions, Alston & Bird’s report says they do not constitute blackmail or extortion.

Danielle and Claudio Reyna said that Berhalter ‘beat the s**t out of’ now-wife Rosalind

Berhalter, seen hugging wife Rosalind during the 2022 World Cup, could still return as US boss

In the wake of the report being released, the USSF have since confirmed that Berhalter remains in the running to continue as USA head coach, despite him stepping back from the team in the wake of the World Cup.

As it stands, Anthony Hudson is in interim charge of the team, and he named his most recent squad on Wednesday for upcoming Nations League games against Grenada and El Salvador.

As far as Pulisic is confirmed, it needs to be business as usual for the US as they head into those games, and begin preparations for a home World Cup in 2026. 

‘Do I feel like we should just wait and wait? I don’t think it’s necessary, because we are not in a phase like we were after not qualifying [for the 2018 World Cup] where we needed a complete rebuild.

‘We don’t need a bunch of new guys coming in. We have a strong core in my opinion, people have seen that and we need to carry on with that. 

‘It’s a tough one for me because we should continue that as soon as we can and build off this World Cup, which I think had a lot of positives in it. We want to get going with that as soon as we can.’