Hope Solo alleges sexual assault by Sepp Blatter

Hope Solo raised sexual assault allegations against former FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

Hope Solo, American goalkeeper, has accused former FIFA President Sepp Blatter of sexual assault, stemming from an incident at the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony in January 2013.

The revelation came during an interview with Expresso in Lisbon, and an excerpt was published today detailing a portion of the conversation.

During the interview, Solo alleged that Blatter “grabbed my ass” prior to her presentation of the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year to fellow American Abby Wambach.

Solo is known for her direct approach to situations, so her reaction following the alleged incident is somewhat puzzling. Solo did explain that she did not confront Blatter following the incident due to nervousness, and hinted at regret for not taking the direct approach in regards to the incident.

"“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.”"

Solo’s allegations come on the heels of fellow American female athlete, Aly Raisman’s allegation of abuse from USA Gymnastics’ doctor.  Additionally, it is another in a series of sexual assault allegations which have rocked every arena of the entertainment industry over the past several weeks.

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Blatter’s reputation took a serious hit in 2015, when he was removed from FIFA and received an eight-year ban for ethics violations.

No official charges have been levied against Blatter, nor has there been reports of an official investigation being launched into the incident.