The co-host of the Ballon d'Or award ceremony has been forced to apologise after the winner of the women's award, Ada Hegerberg, was asked on stage if she knew how to twerk at the event in Paris.
The 23-year-old Lyon striker was announced as the first ever winner of the women's Ballon d'Or by former France international David Ginola and gave an empowering speech to encourage more girls to play football.
However, as the Norway international was leaving the stage, French DJ and co-host Martin Solveig asked her if she could twerk, but the three-time women's Champions League winner abruptly said 'no' before walking away.
A clip of the exact moment she was asked soon went viral on social media with the reaction of a baffled , also highlighting the surprise at Solveig's line of questioning when he asked 'Est-ce que tu sais twerk?' - 'Can you twerk?'.
I explained to 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
— Martin Solveig (@martinsolveig)
After the event, Hegerberg told reporters that she accepted the apology from the 42-year-old.
She was quoted onsaying: 'He came to me afterwards and was really sad that it went that way. I didn't really think about it at the time to be honest.
'I didn't really consider it as sexual harassment or anything in the moment. I was just happy to do the dance and win the Ballon d'Or to be honest.'
Solveig was quick to apologise after his actions provoked furious criticism on social media.
Accompanied by a video apologising further to Hegerberg, Solveig wrote on Twitter: '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.
-Dailymail