Monday was a historic day for women’s football as Ada Hegerberg became the first woman to be awarded a Ballon d’Or, but the evening was dampened by an inappropriate comment from presenter Martin Solveig.
Hegerberg, who plays for Olympique Lyonnais in France, was asked to twerk by the famous DJ just moments after being recognized for the inaugural award.
The Norwegian star shut down Solveig with a swift “no” before immediately exiting the stage.
Moments later, Solveig took to Twitter to apologize, adding that the situation was a misunderstanding.
“Sincere apologies to the one I may have offended. My point was: I don’t invite women to twerk but dance on a Sinatra song. Watch the full sequence. People who have followed me for 20 years know how respectful I am especially with women,” Solveig wrote on Twitter.
He later followed up by tweeting: “I explained to Ada Hegerberg the buzz and she told me she understood it was a joke. Nevertheless my apologies to anyone who may have been offended. Most importantly congratulations to Ada.”
Hegerberg herself spoke after the incident, saying: “He came to me afterwards and was really sad that it went that way. I didn’t really consider it a sexual harassment or anything in the moment. I was just happy to do the dance and win the Ballon d’Or to be honest.”
The 23-year-old beat the likes of Denmark’ Pernille Harder, Lyon team-mate Dzsenifer Marozsan, Brazilian forward Marta and Australia’s Sam Kerr to claim title on Monday.
The striker was the French league’s top scorer with 31 goals last season while also firing 15 in the Champions League as Lyon went on to win the competition.
This season, she has chipped in an additional 12 league goals and a further four in Europe.
Hegerberg was named the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year in 2016 and has won the French league, Coupe de France and Champions League three times apiece as a member of powerhouse Lyon.
Solveig is a French DJ that has been active since 1994 with his most successful single being the 2010 hit “Hello”.
