Yes folks, it is the 21st century, but sometimes you wouldn’t know it.

The French Ballon d’Or award for the best male and female professional footballers of the year was held last night in Paris.  The best male player award went to Luka Modric, a Croation who plays for Real Madrid.  The best female player award went to Ada Hegerberg, a Norwegian who plays for Lyon.  What happened next?

The winners seem to have been required to dance with the DJ who was presenting the awards – daft, but a bit of a laugh.  But – guess what? Ada, the first woman to win the female player award, was then asked by this nitwit if she knew how to ‘twerk’.

For those of you who don’t know what twerking is, just google ‘Miley Cyrus’ and see what joys emerge from your screen.  It’s widely considered to be a sexually-provocative ‘dance’ and most self-aware girls and women wouldn’t even consider joining in. Try finding any on-screen evidence of men doing it.  Here’s a hint – you probably won’t be able to.

So here we are in 2018 with a big step forward in the recognition of women’s football through this award, yet the Einstein presenting it thinks it’s ok to ask a woman, at a great moment of personal and professional triumph, if she knows how to do a sexually provocative dance.  On TV, in front of a massive audience.

Ada made it clear that she was not amused, but behaved graciously.

Social media erupted with complaints about the question – good.  Of course, the DJ presenter immediately launched into the standard non-apology disguised as a real apology.  ‘…my apologies to anyone who may have been offended….I, of course, didn’t want to offend anyone and didn’t know this could be seen as such an offence’.  Really?  Is that an apology or a newspeak version of one?  Why, if this was not an unacceptable comment, did you not also ask Luka Modric and the other male award winners if they know how to twerk?  Just a thought.

Sadly, as usual, the woman on the receiving end also felt constrained to say that she didn’t take it the wrong way, etc etc….Why, Ada?  Why?  You don’t have to put up with this rubbish.  Tell the little weasel to grow up.