Sepp Blatter accused of sexual assault by former US women’s team goalkeeper Hope Solo
CONTROVERSIAL former Fifa president Sepp Blatter has been accused of groping two-time Olympic gold medalist and former USA goalkeeper Hope Solo.
The shotstopper, 36, claims Blatter “grabbed her ass” just moments before she took to the stage at the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony in January 2013.
Hope Solo and Sepp Blatter on stage together at the Ballon d’Or awards in 2013Getty Images - Getty
During an interview with Portuguese outlet Expresso, the 202-capped star revealed how she was left in “shock” following the footy chief’s actions “right before I went on stage,” she alleged.
Solo went on present the Fifa women’s world player of the year award alongside the 81-year-old at the glitzy ceremony to her international team-mate Abby Wambach.
Representatives for Blatter, who was forced to quit his role as football’s most-powerful man in 2015 amid a bribery scandal, deny the star’s claims as “ridiculous”.
But Solo elaborated further, telling The Guardian: “I was in shock and completely thrown off.
The Olympic gold medallist presented an award with Sepp BlatterAP
“I had to quickly pull myself together to present my team-mate with the biggest award of her career and celebrate with her in that moment, so I completely shifted my focus to Abby.”
Video footage from the night shows Solo glancing repeatedly at Blatter as she appears to stutter over her words.
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She says that she has never raised the issue before publicly as she wanted to speak directly to the Swiss over the shocking incident.
Solo added: “I speak out directly [with people] when things like that happen.
“In other cases, for instance, I’ve told my teammates: ‘Don’t ever f**king touch me! Don’t do it’. It has been in the showers, it’s been in the locker room… I usually speak directly with the person.
“In the case of Sepp Blatter, I went on the stage, I was nervous for the presentation… It was the Ballon D’Or I was presenting.
“After that I didn’t see him, and that was kind of bad. I didn’t get to tell him directly ‘Don’t ever touch me.’ That’s the way I’ve always handled things. Directly.
The former Fifa president has denied the claimsAFP or licensors
“And I wish more female athletes would speak out about their own experiences. It’s rampant, it’s not just in Hollywood, it’s probably all over the place.”
Blatter has previously been accused of making sexist remarks in the past, and caused huge controversy back in 2004 with his comments about the female game.
He stated that the standard mid-thigh shorts worn by players should be replaced by hotpants in an effort to improve the women’s sport.
He said: “Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball.
The former Fifa president talks with Hope Solo after the Women’s World Cup finalGetty - Contributor
“They could, for example, have tighter shorts. Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men – such as playing with a lighter ball.
“That decision was taken to create a more female aesthetic, so why not do it in fashion?”
Females from around the planet blasted his remarks and were also keen to highlight the fact that the ball is not lighter.
Those shocking comments were then followed up in 2013 as Blatter referred to a female candidate for the executive committee of Fifa as “good, and good looking”.
Shortly after that he said while addressing the female members of the committee: “Are there ladies in the room? Say something! You are always speaking at home, now you can speak here.”
Blatter became Fifa president in 1998 and in the following years he allegedly engaged in money laundering and took bribes when deciding upon the location for World Cups.
He was forced to resign two years ago after Fifa’s ethics committee found him guilty of accepting an improper payment of two million Swiss franc from Uefa chief Michel Platini.
He was banned from football for eight years in December 2016, with it later being reduced to six years.
Blatter was not indicted in an investigation, unlike 42 other Fifa officials as 24 of them pleaded guilty. Three of them went on trial on Monday.
Back in October, Solo joined the #MeToo campaign to highlight the amount of sexual harassment that women have to suffer across society.
Speaking via her Instagram, she wrote: “For the past few days, I have been thinking about all the uncomfortable situations myself and/or my teammates have experienced throughout the years with trainers, doctors, coaches, executives and even teammates.
“From inappropriate comments, unwanted advances and grabs of the ass to coaches and GMs and even press officers speaking about players “t*ts” and physical appearance, sexual harassment is rampant in the sports world,’ she continued.
“I always felt I’d ‘handled it’ and stood up for myself in those situations, but there were never any consequences for the perpetrators. That needs to change. Silence will not change the world!”
Solo turned professional in 2003 and has been widely-recognised as one of the greatest players of her generation.
In June 2014 she was charged with two misdemeanour accounts of assault against her nephew and half-sister, which she claimed she was defending herself.
The charges were dropped due to the alleged victims’ lack of cooperation with police, however they were reinstated on appeal in October 2016 with a trial date still to be set.
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