Claudio Reyna

Berhalter revealed in January he was the subject of an investigation pertaining to an incident in which he pushed and kicked Rosalind Berhalter, then his girlfriend, in a nightclub when they were both freshmen at the University of North Carolina.

It was subsequently revealed the incident was reported to U.S. Soccer by Giovanni Reyna's mother Danielle, who was angered by Berhalter's treatment of her son at last year's World Cup.

Reyna enjoyed limited playing time at the tournament, after which Berhalter suggested the Borussia Dortmund man was almost exiled from his squad due to poor behaviour in Qatar.

Berhalter's contract with U.S. Soccer expired at the end of December, though he said he was hopeful of returning to the post as a probe into the domestic altercation was announced.

While that investigation has concluded Berhalter did kick his wife, the legal firm that carried it out has advised U.S. Soccer there is no legal impediment to re-employing him.

A statement from U.S. Soccer read: "Upon learning of a serious allegation of past misconduct against then-U.S. Men's National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter, U.S. Soccer immediately engaged a team at Alston & Bird LLP to conduct an independent investigation into the matter. 

"U.S. Soccer takes seriously both allegations of violence and allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards our officials and staff.

"U.S. Soccer's process for determining who will serve as sporting director is ongoing, and interviews are underway. The sporting director will lead the process of determining who will serve as head coach of the Men's National Team. 

"Given the investigators' conclusion that there is no legal impediment to employing him, Gregg Berhalter remains a candidate to serve as head coach.

"The report also identifies a need to revisit U.S. Soccer's policies concerning appropriate parental conduct. We will be updating those policies as we continue to work to ensure safe environments for all participants in our game."

Berhalter revealed on Tuesday he was the subject of an investigation after he admitted to kicking his then-girlfriend Rosalind, who is now his wife.

He said U.S. Soccer was made aware of the incident by "an individual" who planned to "take me down" during the World Cup.

Danielle Reyna subsequently released a statement on Wednesday confirming she was the individual involved, explaining her actions stemmed from Berhalter seemingly referencing Giovanni when revealing a USA player was nearly sent home from Qatar for poor behaviour.

Giovanni's father, Claudio, a former USA team-mate of Berhalter, also confirmed he "shared my frustrations about my son's World Cup experience with a number of close friends, [U.S. Soccer sporting director] Earnie [Stewart] and [general manager] Brian McBride among them", but he insisted he never made any threats.

The saga has left a stain on American soccer, and Berhalter is particularly disappointed for his wife.

Speaking of the controversy for the first time publicly, Berhalter told the Harvard Business Review: "Our entire family is sad about these events, and it's something we want to move forward from.

"As we said in the statement, it was something we didn't hide from back then and isn't something we are prepared to hide from now, that's why we issued the statement.

"The events of that night 31 years ago and the lessons learned from that basically set the foundation for our relationship moving forward.

"It's a loving relationship, a devoted relationship, and we have four amazing kids to show for it. The worst part of it for me is my heart aches for my wife, because it was her story to tell if she chose to or not, and that's what just really saddens me."

Berhalter's original comments about Giovanni were erroneously published by the Charter newsletter after he spoke at the "HOW Institute for Society's summit on Moral Leadership".

He now regrets ever saying anything, despite believing he was not talking on the record.

"If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't have told that story," he added. "It brought too much attention to an overall shining example of team culture and teamwork. That would be something I'd go back and change, for sure."

Berhalter's contract with the USA ended last week and U.S. Soccer's probe into the 1991 incident is unlikely to have helped his chances of getting a renewal.

U.S. Soccer announced on Wednesday that Anthony Hudson will take charge of the team's upcoming January training camp, though Berhalter is hopeful of returning to the post.

"It's a fantastic group of players, a super high-potential group and we are competing in the World Cup in North America in 2026, so it would be amazing challenge for this team," Berhalter said.

"When we started in 2018, we wanted to change the way the world views American soccer and I think when you ask around the world now about our team, everyone sees us in a different light.

"But now it's about taking that next step, and that next step is doing something no US team has ever done, and that's get to the semi-finals [of a men's World Cup] and see what happens from there.

"There's a lot of great challenges involved, and of course I'd like to continue in my role."

Berhalter's contract with US Soccer expired at the end of December, with the governing body putting any decision on his future on hold amid an investigation into claims he kicked his wife in a 1992 altercation.

The allegation – which Berhalter has admitted to – was brought to US Soccer's attention by Reyna's mother Danielle, who was angered by Berhalter's treatment of her son at last year's World Cup.

Reyna had limited playing time at the tournament, after which Berhalter suggested the Borussia Dortmund youngster was almost exiled from his squad due to poor behaviour.

US Soccer has appointed Anthony Hudson as interim boss, but it also confirmed Berhalter remains under consideration for a new deal when announcing the findings of the investigation this week, and national team winger Pulisic sympathises with the coach.

"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 per cent," Chelsea's Pulisic told ESPN.

"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 [like] 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 USA earned plaudits for their energetic performances as they reached the last 16 in Qatar last year, having failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Asked whether the team required major changes, Pulisic said: "I don't think it's necessary. We are not in a phase like we were after not qualifying, 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."