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Amid controversy, Claudio Reyna has resigned as the sporting director of Austin FC but will continue serving as a technical adviser, the club announced on Thursday. The transition will see head coach Josh Wolff serve as the club’s chief soccer officer while Sean Rubio will be the interim sporting director until a decision is made on where the team is going.
After Reyna and his wife, Danielle, brought domestic violence allegations to the attention of U.S. Soccer regarding former United States men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter in retaliation for their son barely playing in the World Cup, it was wondered if there would be fallout for Reyna’s current position. But with him stepping down, the team will get to move on on their own terms after the team’s second season in MLS, making it to the last four and nearly to MLS Cup.
The investigations by U.S. Soccer into both Berhalter and “potential inappropriate behavior towards multiple members of our staff by individuals outside of our organization” are still ongoing but it would’ve been hard for Reyna to continue in his role with Austin while things are looming, especially with the MLS season kicking off in under a month.
“We’re grateful for Claudio’s contributions to both our club and our community,” said Austin FC Majority Owner and Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Precourt. “Claudio has been committed to the cause of building a club that inspires Austin, and he will remain in a position to contribute to our organization.”
Reyna has been with the club since 2019 and was involved with their launch after also leading New York City FC as their first employee in 2013. A rising director in the league, it will be interesting to see if Reyna gets another shot before long or if the off-the-pitch distractions prevent that from happening.
