Russian fan who groped female World Cup reporter on air apologizes for 'unsuccessful joke'

Scott Gleeson | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Burger King encouraged Russian women to sleep with World Cup stars Burger King apologized after an advertisement in Russia promised women a reward if they became impregnated with the child of a World Cup soccer player.

A Russian soccer fan who sexually assaulted a female World Cup reporter apologized Thursday in a taped Skype conversation, calling his groping and kissing of Julieth González Therán during a live broadcast last week an "unsuccessful joke."

González Therán was reporting on the tournament from Saransk, Russia, last Friday when the man ran up to her during a live shot, grabbed her breast, kissed her on the cheek and ran away. González Therán, who was working for the Spanish news channel for Deutsche Welle — a German TV station — continued her report as if nothing had happened. Footage of the incident quickly went viral.

The man, who was unnamed in a video posted to Deutsche Welle's website, apologized to González Therán over a Skype call that was captured by the German media outlet after the man reached out expressing regret. He said he did not intend to touch her chest in the taped segment.

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"An unsuccessful joke turned into sexual harassment," he told González Therán in Russian over the segmented Skype call. “There has been a stir around this misunderstanding and an unsuccessful joke with a kiss on the cheek turned into sexual harassment. I offer you the most profound apologies. I acted carelessly and did not think that it would cause you confusion and shock.

#RUSIA2018



Comienza el Mundial y nuestra reportera @JULIETHCGT se encuentra demasiado cerca de los hinchas en el corazón de Moscú. [ko] pic.twitter.com/oMkHoUv6jy — DW (Español) (@dw_espanol) June 14, 2018

González Therán, who said in a statement published earlier Thursday that she did not want to be treated as a "victim," replied to the man. "I appreciate you reached out to me to apologize for your misconduct," she said over Skype. "What happened was unacceptable and disrespectful, but it’s the right thing to do and I accept your apology. ... every single person must be respected, regardless of their religion, their nationality, their background, that’s why we are here. To share with other cultures. It’s not about football, it’s in order to understand other cultures better.”

Deutsche Welle said that no official charges would be brought against the man for his misconduct and it wanted to use the publicity of the incident as a learning opportunity.