Russian football fan apologises to reporter he kissed on cheek and groped: 'an unsuccessful joke turned into sexual harassment'

Sophie Williams22 June 2018

A Russian football fan has apologised for kissing and inadvertently groping a female sports reporter during a live World Cup broadcast.

The man who was not named, offered his "profound apologies" to Colombian reporter Julieth Gonzalez Theran during a Skype call.

The football fan spoke to Ms Theran over Skype and told her: "An unsuccessful joke turned into sexual harassment."

He said the incident unfolded when he "bet with a friend" that he could kiss a reporter on the cheek during a live broadcast.

"I saw a reporter nearby and waited for the live broadcast and ran up and kissed her and quickly left the frame," he said.

"I thought I put my hands on her shoulder but apparently I missed a little and touched her chest with my hand. I would not have believed it myself but having looked at the video I realise that it looked ambiguous from the side."

"Once again I apologise. I know that your job is very hard and I hope that you will never face another such incident in your career. I'm really sorry."

Ms Theran thanked the fan for his apology and told him "what happened was unacceptable and disrespectful."

She said that she refuses to be "a victim" and wants to "close this chapter."

The incident sparked outrage online with the fan branded "disrespectful" by people online.

Ms Theran posted the clip of the incident on her Instagram account and called for more "respect" for women sports journalists.

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