Hope Solo, the most accomplished goalkeeper in U.S. women’s national team history, has accused for FIFA president Sepp Blatter of sexual assault.
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Solo told Portuguese newspaper Expresso she "had Sepp Blatter grab my ass" before the two presented FIFA's women's player of the year award at the 2013 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony.
"I was in shock and completely thrown off," Solo told the Guardian on Friday.
"I had to quickly pull myself together to present my teammate (Abby Wambach) with the biggest award of her career and celebrate with her in that moment, so I completely shifted my focus to Abby."
Solo posted on Instagram last month a message to women participating in the #MeToo hashtag and speaking out against sexual assault.
"I’m actually very disappointed with the women who haven’t spoken about it in the sports world," Solo told Expresso.
"I wish more women, especially in football, would speak against it, about the experiences, because some of those people still work [in football]."
Solo expanded to the Guardian: "While in this instance it was Sepp Blatter, who was the most powerful man in football at the time, sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior are rampant at every level in women’s sport and it needs to stop."
Blatter, 81, was banned by FIFA for six years in 2015 after his involvement in the FIFA corruption scandal. He served as the organization’s president from 1998 until the ban.
In 2004, Blatter said the women’s game could attract more viewers if they wore "tighter shorts" like volleyball players.