‘Twerk joke outrage will help women’s game grow’

The widespread condemnation of the Ballon d’or twerk “joke” directed at Norway star Ada Hegerberg will help grow women’s football, according to Wales boss and Arsenal great Jayne Ludlow.

Lyon striker Hegerberg was announced as the first-ever winner of the women’s Ballon d’or on Monday night, but the ceremony was overshadowed when French DJ and cohost Martin Solveig asked the 23-year-old if she could twerk.

The three-time women’s Championsleaguewinner abruptly said “no” before walking away, although Hegerberg later said she “didn’t really consider it as sexual harassment or anything in the moment”.

Solveig said Hegerberg understood his twerk comment was “a joke”, but apologised to those who had been offended.

British tennis star Andy Murray, however, strongly criticised Solveig, claiming the incident shows sexism still exists in sport, while three-time Olympic bronze medallist Kelly Sotherton was another who condemned him.

France World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe was at the Paris ceremony and his disgusted reaction to Solveig’s comment was caught on camera.

“They’ll probably look back at that incident and wish it had not happened,” said Ludlow, a nine-time league winner and Arsenal Ladies’ record scorer. “But many people involved in women’s sport think it’s a good thing because of the response.

“Top level guys at the top of their game – sportsmen, footballers – recognised that it was not acceptable and that support will grow our game more than anything else.

“To see his (Mbappe) reaction was great, better than any promotional campaign football can have. You’ve got a top-level guy saying ‘Hey, that’s out of order. You need to respect this woman because she’s a superstar’.

“The award should have happened earlier, but I don’t look it as a bad thing because the response has been fantastic.”