Seattle Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer has distanced the club from comments made by head coach Sigi Schmid last week.
Schmid indicated that he felt US Soccer were against the Sounders after giving them an 'unfair' draw for the quarter-finals of the US Open Cup.
The Sounders coach believes that the governing body want to prevent his club from winning a fourth-straight cup but Hanauer says that is not the belief of the Seattle franchise.
"I know Sigi well enough to know that some of what he says is a little bit of jab, some of it's a little tongue-in-cheek, some of it is how he feels, but just because he says something doesn't mean that he believes 100 percent, for instance, the draw is rigged.
"The area where I support him absolutely, 100 percent, is that more transparency in the whole process eliminates anyone questioning it. It's not the first time a draw for a tournament in any sport where there are, in effect, conspiracy theories about that. I'm just a big believer in transparency and that eliminates any uncertainty in these types of cases.""Sigi has a long background in this league, with US Soccer," Hanauer said. "I also think Sigi's job is to get wins, motivate the team, push our league, push US Soccer.
