U.S. soccer president tells CNN more misconduct cases reported.
U.S. soccer’s president says more than 200 cases of alleged systemic coaching violations have been reported to the organization since last year.
“We are aware of more than 200 cases that have been reported to the Department of Justice,” U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati told Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” Monday.
It’s the latest in a string of cases involving U.S. Soccer, which is investigating allegations that dozens of players’ pay and expenses were not being properly accounted for.
“We’re going to continue to pursue these cases with the Office of the United States Attorney in Washington, D.C. We have a very strong process in place in place,” Gulati said.
The case involving the U.S. Women’s National Team, the latest to be reported, involved allegations that the team paid women and men who were not on the 2015 World Cup roster as well as other players at $50,000 each for appearances.
The cases are the latest in a string of issues involving U.S. Soccer since it launched in 1996 after the merger of Major League Soccer and the NFL.
Gulati said the investigation of some of the cases is now complete and that he expects to release a statement and report on them shortly. He would not go into details regarding the ongoing investigation.
“These are important matters that should be addressed within the organization,” he said.
Gulati also said he expects to have a formal plan outlining how U.S. Soccer will address the issues in place by the end of the year.
One of the most high profile cases relates to the use of a former player’s image in a commercial for the women’s team.
Gulati was asked about the $5.5 million settlement that the U.S. Soccer federation reached with Major League Soccer, which was paid to the former star striker Megan Rapinoe after she launched a $20 million lawsuit against the federation.
Gulati said he believes the federation has an obligation to protect the image of all players because