U.S. soccer president tells CNN more misconduct cases reported to federation
Michael Clarke, the executive director, said they made the decision to not renew his contract after a review.
“The review has never been conducted and we’ve simply decided to end our association with him,” Clarke said.
Clarke, who won two MLS Cup titles with the Columbus Crew, says he was in charge of the federation for almost 15 years and never received any reports of improper conduct. But he says he found out there had been a number of allegations during the World Cup.
“It has been a very difficult decision to make moving forward,” Clarke said on “New Day.” “It’s been very difficult. It’s been very painful personally, but we feel like there’s nothing more that can be done for the organization and our fans in Columbus, Ohio.”
The national federation said Clarke was suspended from the board Tuesday while the U.S. Soccer Federation investigates the matter. Clarke’s Twitter account posted a statement saying he was leaving his position as federation president.
“As you can imagine, the decision to step aside was not easy, but one I made with complete sincerity,” Clarke said. “We would have worked together for many years to continue to make soccer a growth force in American culture. This has come at the best time for me to do so.”
Clarke has led the U.S. Soccer federation for 12 years, and worked as a broadcaster, college sports director and executive director of the U.S. Soccer Foundation.
In the wake of the fallout from the scandal in Colorado, the federation will consider a host of different options, including an internal investigation, a “review board” or a “reassessment.” U.S. Soccer could also look into whether there was any impropriety in the handling of the allegations by the federation and whether other organizations outside of the federation were aware of inappropriate behavior.
U.S. Soccer hasn’t publicly identified a replacement for Clarke, who was suspended from the board of directors Tuesday and is no longer president. The decision to suspend was made immediately after the Colorado women’s amateur soccer team said it was terminated from the national team for “unacceptable” behavior.
The federation said