Advertisement
United States women's goalkeeper Hope Solo

Solo given six-month suspension for 'cowards' outburst after US Olympic exit

The 35-year-old wasn’t happy with how Sweden played in Rio.

US SOCCER HAS suspended long-serving goalkeeper Hope Solo for six months due to “conduct that is counter to the organisation’s principles”.

In a statement released last night, US Soccer said the suspension was handed down because of Solo’s controversial comments following a penalty shoot-out loss to Sweden in the quarter-finals of the women’s football tournament at the Olympic Games in Rio.

Solo – a 202-cap veteran – claimed Sweden played like “a bunch of cowards” with an extremely defensive style that kept USA off the board until the deciding spot-kicks.

The 35-year-old was also suspended for 30 days in 2015 for misconduct. Her latest ban is effective immediately.

“The comments by Hope Solo after the match against Sweden during the 2016 Olympics were unacceptable and do not meet the standard of conduct we require from our National Team players,” US Soccer president Sunil Gulati said.

Beyond the athletic arena, and beyond the results, the Olympics celebrate and represent the ideals of fair play and respect. We expect all of our representatives to honour those principles, with no exceptions.

“Taking into consideration the past incidents involving Hope, as well as the private conversations we’ve had requiring her to conduct herself in a manner befitting a U.S. National Team member, U.S. Soccer determined this is the appropriate disciplinary action.”

As a result of the suspension, Solo is not eligible for selection for USA until February of 2017.

The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!

Here’s the line-up and seedings for today’s Champions League draw

Rostov thrash Ajax and Hazard’s brother hits a hat-trick as Champions League line-up is set

Author
The 42
View 15 comments
Close
15 Comments
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.