Ballon D'Or host Solveig apologises for 'twerk' request

French DJ Martin Solveig and Ada Hegerberg

French DJ Martin Solveig has apologised and said he was taken aback by the stormy reaction online after he asked the inaugural women's Ballon D'Or winner Ada Hegerberg whether she could "twerk" live on stage.

The awards co-host in Paris provoked a torrent of complaints about sexism with his question about the sexually suggestive dance, which received a blunt "No" from the unamused Norwegian striker.

"Guys I'm a little bit amazed, astonished by what I'm reading on the internet. Of course I didn't want to offend anyone... This was a joke, probably a bad one and I want to apologise for the one I may have offended," he said.

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