Cindy Cone says U.S. Soccer’s Reyna-Berhalter investigation should finish in ‘the coming weeks’

The U.S. Soccer Federation held its latest quarterly board of directors meeting on Thursday. Here’s a look at the headline news items that were discussed.

President Cindy Cone said the independent investigation U.S. Soccer commissioned over the Reyna-Berhalter scandal “should be completed in the coming weeks.”

That she didn’t put an exact timeline on the completion will frustrate fans. Cone would like it done quickly too, as she said on the day the investigation was announced. But she has been steadfast in not wanting to enforce a timeline on an independent investigation so the investigators don’t miss anything — and so U.S. Soccer can’t be accused of telling the investigators what to do.

“Since we’ve come back from Qatar, we’ve had to deal with a sad and unfortunate situation, but I believe we’re handling it in the right way,” Cone said.

Notably, U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart did not speak in the public session of the meeting. Nor did U.S. men’s team general manager Brian McBride or women’s team GM Kate Markgraf.

A schedule for the public session distributed to the media in advance did not list the sporting department on the agenda. Two sources with knowlege of the matter said there is no requirement that the sporting brass, or other department heads, speak in the public session.

Markgraf, in fairness, had other business to attend to: she’s in New Zealand for the U.S. women’s team’s games there this week. It was 5:30 a.m. in Auckland, where the U.S. is based, when the board’s public session began at 11:30 a.m. ET.

After a 4-0 U.S. win to start the series, the finale is this weekend at Auckland’s Eden Park (10 p.m. Friday, Universo, HBO Max, Peacock).

» READ MORE: DaMarcus Beasley calls for Gregg Berhalter's exit in his debut on HBO Max's national team coverage

Cone lamented a decision this week by the International Football Association Board, keepers of world soccer’s rulebook, to turn down testing temporary substitutions for players who suffer concussions. MLS, England’s Premier League, France’s Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, and players unions worldwide had pushed for the test.

“That was unfortunately rejected by IFAB,” Cone said. “U.S. Soccer is supposed to focus on being a leader in concussion awareness and safety. We fully supported MLS in this, as player safety is of the utmost importance, and we’re hoping that IFAB will continue to look at this.”

MLS also issued a forceful statement on the news.

“MLS strongly disagrees with The IFAB’s decision to deny the provisional trial of temporary concussion substitutes,” it said. “The health and well-being of our players is of critical importance to MLS and our petition to implement the trial is based on advice of our medical experts and a recognition of evolving science on how to identify and diagnose head injuries.”

The league said it would “continue to work with the coalition from around the world who share our goals.”

Cone mentioned recent meetings with FIFA and Concacaf about “various international competitions here in the U.S. over the next several years.” She didn’t mention the possibility of the U.S. playing in (and hosting) the 2024 Copa América, but it will add a little fuel to the fire.

“We’ll be working together to drive as much impact as possible around the men’s World Cup in ‘26,” she said.

» READ MORE: Will the USMNT play in the 2024 Copa América? U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson opens the door to it.

New CEO JT Batson noted that he heard a lot from and about referees while attending last week’s United Soccer Coaches convention in Philadelphia.

Batson worked as a youth soccer referee and referee assigner alongside his past jobs in the tech industry. He knows well that while everyone likes to complain about officiating, referees have no formal representation in U.S. Soccer governance. So they can’t speak for themselves to get more funding for referee training and development.

“This is an area that’s near and dear to my heart,” Batson said at his first board meeting since taking the job in the fall.

“Whether you’re at the [level] of young kids who are on the recreational level playing, or you’re with our professional leagues, this is an area that matters to everyone,” he said. “And if you’re a referee, this is something that of course matters to you. I think there’s a lot of acknowledgment of the work to do there, and it’s something that I really appreciate everyone’s focus, attention, and commitment to ultimately getting this right.”

Multiple members of U.S. Soccer’s new task force on player safety spoke about their work. The group was formed in the wake of the abuse scandals in women’s soccer, and its chair is Mana Shim, the former player who blew the whistle on longtime coach Paul Riley.

“This is my first time in front of the board, and I just want to say thank you,” Shim said. “Thank you for listening to me, for both believing me and believing in me, and just trusting me with this important work because I know a lot of you care a great deal about it.”

A slide in the group’s presentation said a major goal is for “every adult in the soccer ecosystem,” which means more than just coaches, to complete a “Safe Soccer” program that will grant a portable digital pass.

The program is expected to be rolled out over the next 3-5 years, with “a tiered approach that recognizes operational and financial realities” for state and local organizations.

In the short term, the task force is interviewing candidates for a new Chief Safeguarding Officer for U.S. Soccer.

» READ MORE: NWSL bans Paul Riley and other managers accused of abusing players

There are proposed amendments to U.S. Soccer’s professional league standards, one of the governing body’s major enforcement tools. The standards have traditionally focused on minimum wealth requirements for team owners and capacities for stadiums.

A slide in the meeting showed that a new “Player Health & Safety” section of the standards is expected to include “requirements for Player Safety Officers, player feedback surveys, annual safeguarding training, timely & transparent investigations, annual safeguarding reports, detailed anti-harassment policies, etc.”

Discussions are underway with the various professional leagues — and not just women’s leagues. The final amendments will be voted on at U.S. Soccer’s annual general meeting in March in San Diego.

“We think this is a major, important step not only for the NWSL, but as we look to expand and proactively make change for other pro leagues,” U.S. Soccer staffer Emily Cosler said.

The next major public update will come at the end of this month.