Ricardo Pepi HUNG UP on Gregg Berhalter when he was told he was out of the USA World Cup team

Ricardo Pepi hung up on Gregg Berhalter when the under-fire coach told him he was not included in the USA’s World Cup squad for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

Speaking on a podcast for Dutch club Groningen, who Pepi currently plays for, he opened up on how unimpressed he was with Berhalter’s decision.

‘I remember exactly the moment – I hopped on a phone call with the national team coach, he said I wasn’t on the roster so then I just hung up the phone on him,’ Pepi said.

One of the podcast hosts interjected, saying: ‘You didn’t ask why?’

‘No, not really to be honest,’ Pepi said, without ever mentioning Berhalter directly by name. ‘I was in shock, it took me five minutes to get it in my mind. I just couldn’t believe it – I called my agent immediately and then I called my father. They thought I was playing with them.

‘It was something that I was shocked about to be honest. I use every situation and every situation like this is always going to make me hungry.’

Meanwhile Berhalter, the now-out-of-contract USMNT coach, revealed Tuesday that he had physically abused his now-wife Rosalind back in 1991, kicking her in the legs in a drunken row.

He also said that someone outside the organization had threatened to ‘take him down’.

Earlier Wednesday, former USMNT midfielder Claudio Reyna and his wife Danielle – the parents of out-of-favor midfielder Gio Reyna – admitted to reporting the incident to US Soccer.

It came after Berhalter also surprisingly gave Reyna – one of the most exciting players in US soccer – a minor role on the team. Berhalter later told a Charter leadership briefing that he came close to sending a squad member home from Qatar due to his ‘extreme’ poor behavior.

Berhalter did not reveal who the player was, but reports later emerged that it was Gio Reyna, prompting the 19-year-old to address the speculation on Instagram.

‘I am disappointed that there is continuing coverage of this matter… and extremely surprised that anyone on the US men’s team would contribute to it,’ Reyna said. ‘Coach Berhalter has always said that issues that arise with the team will stay “in house” so we can focus on team unity and progress.’

Reyna’s statement was liked by a number of US players, including star midfielder Yunus Musah, Tim Ream, Joe Scally and Pepi himself. Pepi’s quotes now will only appear to further undermine Berhalter’s authority.

Meanwhile, Pepi stayed in Holland and was caught dancing while wearing an Oranje shirt after the United States was knocked out in the Round of 16. Pepi addressed the incident on the podcast, saying the shirt was worn as the result of a lost bet he made with a Groningen teammate.

Pepi said he never chased an explanation from Berhalter later on because he didn’t want one.

‘That’s something I didn’t really want to know, I didn’t want to give myself any excuses,’ Pepi explained. ‘My mentality was that it was time to get to work. One or two days was digesting it and then accepting the fact I didn’t make it meant it was time to get to work.

‘I watched the games, I have teammates and some of them are great friends, I support the country so it is important to watch the match.’