By CAITLIN MURRAY
U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati has spoken with Hope Solo about her arrest and hinted her behavior could put her U.S. Women’s National Team standing in jeopardy.
“I spoke with Hope last week,” Gulati said during a press scrum Thursday in Brazil. “I think her comments, which she put on her Facebook page and other places, reflect how she feels about the whole situation. I think her apology was appropriate and appreciated certainly by us. I think the rest, we’ll have to wait and see what happens with the legal process.”
Solo had issued a public apology after she was arrested for fourth-degree domestic violence assault for allegedly striking two family members. The incident forced her to miss a game with the Seattle Reign and the club suspended her for one game as a result.
Solo plead not guilty and has a pretrial hearing scheduled for Aug. 11 with judge’s orders to refrain from drinking alcohol or contacting the alleged victims in the case.
The Reign issued a statement the same day as Solo’s apology implying her status with the club could be on the line if she is determined to have committed a crime. U.S. Soccer had previously declined comment, but Gulati hinted Thursday that their conversation covered the possibility of what might affect Solo’s standing with the national team.
“Hope certainly understands that it’s not a right to play for the national team, it’s a privilege, and certain responsibilities come with that,” Gulati said. “And we would much prefer to have her in the news for great goalkeeping performances than anything else. We had a good conversation.”
Here are some more news items from around the National Women’s Soccer League:
WALDRUM NAMED TRINIDAD & TOBAGO NATIONAL TEAM COACH
Houston Dash coach Randy Waldrum has a new job.
Waldrum was named the head coach of the Trinidad & Tabago women’s national team, according to reports out of Trinidad late Thursday. The team’s previous coach Marlon Charles had been ousted and replaced with Waldrum in a move aimed at securing a spot in the Women’s World Cup next year in Canada.
In August, Trindad & Tobago is planned to train in Houston, where Waldrum also coaches the NWSL’s Dash, a sister club of the Houston Dynamo. There, Trinidad & Tobago will play two friendlies against Mexico as preparation for their World Cup qualifying tournament, the Women’s Caribbean Cup held later in August.
Asked if Waldrum would be pulling double-duty with the Dash and the national team, Waldrum and Dash spokesmen did not return requests from SBI late Thursday seeking comment. Waldrum had told SBI he would email a statement Friday, but did not.
Waldrum will have his work cut out. The Trinidad & Tobago women’s national team isn’t officially ranked by FIFA because they’ve been deemed inactive for at least 18 months. The team, nicknamed the Soca Princesses, has never qualified for a World Cup.
Waldrum coached the Trinidad & Tobago U-17 women’s team previously.
NWSL REVIEWING HARRIS INCIDENT WITH REF, DUBIOUS RED CARD AS BREAKERS FINED
Update, 6:21 pm ET: A league spokesman confirmed to SBI Friday evening that Ashlyn Harris will not face any disciplinary action over the incident.
“In reviewing the play, the referee comes in between Washington’s Harris and Boston’s Reeves to manage a confrontation and prevent Harris from continuing her progress towards Reeves,” NWSL’s spokeman said in an email to SBI. “As the referee turns away from Harris to manage the approach of Washington’s Krieger towards Reeves, Harris extends her arms to separate herself from the referee. Minimal contact with the referee is apparent from the video evidence available. Therefore, we do not feel any further action against Harris is warranted.”
Original report below:
In the Boston Breakers 3-3 draw at the Washington Spirit on Wednesday, tensions were running high — perhaps too high.
The league has asked for a formal review of a situation involving Washington Spirit goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and referee Dimitar N. Chavdarov late in the team’s 3-3 draw to the Boston Breakers on Wednesday.
In the 87th minute, Chavdarov was breaking up an argument between players when Harris attempted to shove him out of the way. Chavdarov had stepped back at that moment and Harris did not appear to make contact.
A league spokesman told SBI that, as of early Friday afternoon, no decision had been made regarding the incident.
“I think it was one of those games where everyone was just kind of losing control,” Harris said after the match. “I think the [referee] kind of let things get out of hand and everyone was boiling at that point. We can’t place the blame on referees, these things happen and it’s part of our sport.”
The spokesman also confirmed that a 70th-minute red card given to Maddy Evans was also under review by the Professional Referee Organization at the league’s request. Evans had attempted a late tackle on Lori Lindsey, but replays show no contact was actually made.
Both coaches, Breakers’ Tom Durkin and Spirit’s Mark Parsons, seemed unhappy with the calls by the ref. But Durkin was much more direct, even saying the league could fine him for his comments.
The league did just that when a spokesman announced Friday morning that the Breakers had been fined an undisclosed amount for comments made by general manager Lee Billiard and Durkin. Billiard had tweeted after the match that it was an “absolutely shocking performance” from the referee.
—–
What do you think of this news? Do you think USWNT could get by without their starting goalkeeper? Can Waldrum successfully split time between the Dash and Trinidad & Tobago? And what should be done about the incidents stemming from the Spirit-Breakers match?
Share your thoughts below.