Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter groped me during award ceremony: USA’s Hope Solo
USA women’s team goalkeeper Hope Solo has accused Fifa president Sepp Blatter of sexually assaulting her at an awards ceremony in January 2013.
In an interview with the Portuguese newspaper Expresso, being published on Saturday, Solo, 36, claimed she “had Sepp Blatter grab my ass” at the glittering presentation of Fifa’s annual football awards for achievement during 2012.
Solo presented the Fifa women’s world player of the year award on stage alongside Blatter, to her colleague on the USA team that had won the gold medal at the London Olympics.
Blatter, contacted via his spokesman, responded to Solo’s recollection by denying that the incident took place. “This allegation is ridiculous,” he said.
In 2016, Blatter had lost his appeal against a six-year ban for ethics violations, imposed amid the biggest corruption scandal to shake the world football body, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Monday.
CAS ruled that Blatter had authorised payments to Michel Platini, then the European football boss, worth over $2 million that amounted to “undue gifts” and therefore violated FIFA’s code of ethics. Blatter, who led FIFA for 17 years, said that he was “disappointed but not shattered”.
He resigned in June last year after several dozen football officials, including …read more