THE FORMER HEAD of world football Sepp Blatter said Saturday that claims by US women’s goalkeeper Hope Solo that he had grabbed her backside were “absurd”.
Solo told Portuguese newspaper Expresso that then-Fifa president Blatter had sexually harassed her at the 2013 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
The 36-year-old Solo, her country’s standout goalkeeper, claimed Blatter pounced as she was about to present an award to her teammate Abby Wambach.
“Sepp Blatter grabbed my ass, it was a few years ago at the Ballon d’Or ceremony just before I got on stage,” Solo said.
However Blatter, 81, told AFP the accusations were “absurd and ridiculous”.
Solo, a World Cup winner and two-time Olympic champion, made the allegations on the sidelines of the Web Summit being held in Lisbon.
She said that sexual harassment at the hands of male officials was a common problem in women’s football.
“I have seen this all of my career and I would like to see more athletes speak about their experiences,” said Solo.
“It’s out of control, not just in Hollywood but everywhere,” she added in reference to the firestorm of sexual harassment allegations in entertainment, politics and sport since the scandal involving Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein unfolded.
Solo made reference to the fact that female players sometimes married their US college coaches “which obviously a coach should not be doing, especially with a young player.”
Blatter was president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015 until he was banned for corruption.
The Swiss official ran FIFA with an iron hand and oversaw a period in which football’s premier tournament was hosted in Asia for the first time and he paved the way for it to be held in Qatar in 2022.
After the corruption allegations emerged, FIFA banned Blatter from the sport for eight years, a term later reduced to six years after appeal.
Blatter told AFP last month that he would attend next year’s World Cup finals in Russia at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin.
- As proud Energy Partner to the FAI, SSE Airtricity have given us a pair of tickets to the sold-out Republic of Ireland vs Denmark game to give away. You’ll watch the Boys in Green (hopefully) seal World Cup qualification from your premium level seats after enjoying food and refreshments in the Vavasour Suite before the match. To enter simply email competitions@the42.ie with your score prediction for the away leg and we’ll pick a winner from the correct entries on Sunday morning.
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The real special one
@Jamie: When he has 4 he is special until then Judas is the special one !
@Jamie: Why not try and congratulate one of your own first Alan before you troll . Well done Chris Hughton !!
Yes, he has done well, but I think he can only truly be judged next year. The advantage of only playing once a week was incredible. With that, and not sustaining any major injuries, no team in the league made less changes to its starting 11 week in week out. So, luck definitely had its part to play.
@William Boland: still done amazing especially if they win FA cup. I think not playing Europe did help but clubs like Liverpool didn’t play in Europe and they didn’t treat
Threaten to win anything this season.. so massive credit to Conte..
Conte deserves the award for turning Chelsea around and making them into the formidable force, the real challenge starts next season, with champions league included