From John Terry and Wayne Bridge to the U.S.!
John Harkes
Steve Sampson
Eric Wynalda
(SEATTLE TIMES)
Ex-U.S. coach Sampson alleges Harkes had affair with teammate's wife: Ending more than a decade of silence, former U.S. coach Steve Sampson said he dropped John Harkes from the national-team roster two months before the 1998 World Cup because the American captain was having an affair with the wife of teammate Eric Wynalda.
Harkes has long denied having an affair with Amy Wynalda.
Eric Wynalda, a father of three who separated from Amy in 2003 and divorced, insisted his wife and Harkes had an affair.
"I'm calling it an inappropriate relationship," he said. "It was a major contributor to why I'm no longer married."
Harkes, a member of the 1990 and 1994 World Cup teams, said, "I am not going to rehash the things that have happened in the past; 1998 was devastating to me and my family."
Sampson, who was fired after the 1998 World Cup, defended his decision to hide the truth.
"I felt that these are the kinds of issues that need to stay in the locker room and within the team and not (be) exposed to the public," Sampson said. "The private issues for me were the most serious issues. I think I could have lived with everything else and kept John on the team if it had not been for the private issues.
"It's one thing to have an affair outside the team. It's another to have one inside. ... There are just certain lines that one cannot cross."
