Norwegian forward Ada Hegerberg (R) stands alongside French DJ and producer Martin Solveig (L) after receiving the 2018 women's Ballon d'Or award |
French DJ Martin Solveig apologised and said he was taken aback by the stormy reaction online after he asked the inaugural women's Ballon D'Or winner Ada Hegerberg whether she could "twerk" live on stage.
The awards
co-host in Paris provoked a torrent of complaints about sexism with his
question about the sexually suggestive dance, which received a blunt "No"
from the unamused Norwegian striker.
The
incident was a major talking point despite Hegerberg's achievement in becoming
the first winner of the women's Ballon D'Or, an award which has been handed to
male footballers since 1956.
Solveig, a
musician and radio host, apologised in person to Hegerberg and said he was
"astonished" at the reaction.
"Guys
I'm a little bit amazed, astonished by what I'm reading on the internet,"
he said in a video posted on Twitter.
"Of
course I didn't want to offend anyone... This was a joke, probably a bad one
and I want to apologise for the one I may have offended."
As footage
of the incident went viral, British tennis player Andy Murray led the backlash
when he thundered: "Why do women still have to put up with that
shit?"
"What
questions did they ask (Kylian) Mbappe and (Luka) Modric?" he posted on
Instagram, referring to the winners of the best young player and the men's
Ballon D'Or.
"I'd
imagine something to do with football.
"And
to everyone who thinks people are overreacting and it was just a joke... it
wasn't. I've been involved in sport my whole life and the level of sexism is
unreal."
Hegerberg,
23, whose goals propelled Lyon to a record fifth Champions League title and
their 12th consecutive domestic crown, played down the controversy and said it
hadn't marred her evening.
"I
didn't feel it was like that at all to be honest and I am sad if people thought
about the situation like that," Hegerberg said after the show.
She added:
"He came to see me after and apologised. The Ballon d'Or is the most
important thing."
Before the
ceremony, Hegerberg told The Guardian that she found it "really
frustrating" that sport remains "such a man's world".
"Sometimes
it's really frustrating, I must say. Sometimes you have episodes or situations
where you feel like, damn, we're in such a man's world," she said in an
interview.
"But
at the same time I've never looked at myself different from men's football. I've
always felt the same -- I work hard to try to achieve my dreams, like every
other girl out there."
Factfile on #AdaHegerberg, the winner of the first women's #BallonDor https://t.co/v3H3tqeMU4 pic.twitter.com/9jKgwgDDEO— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 4, 2018
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