PARIS — French DJ Martin Solveig apologized 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.

The incident was a major talking point despite Hegerberg's achievement in becoming the first winner of the women's Ballon D'Or, an award which has been handed to male footballers since 1956.

Solveig, a musician and radio host, apologized in person to Hegerberg and said he was "astonished" at the reaction. "Guys I'm a little bit amazed, astonished by what I'm reading on the Internet," he said in a video posted on Twitter.

"Of course I didn't want to offend anyone... This was a joke, probably a bad one and I want to apologize for the one I may have offended."

As footage of the incident went viral, British tennis player Andy Murray led the backlash. "What questions did they ask (Kylian) Mbappe and (Luka) Modric?" he posted on Instagram, referring to the winners of the best young player and the men's Ballon D'Or.

"I'd imagine something to do with football. And to everyone who thinks people are overreacting and it was just a joke... it wasn't. I've been involved in sport my whole life and the level of sexism is unreal."

Hegerberg, 23, whose goals propelled Lyon to a record fifth Champions League title and their 12th consecutive domestic crown, played down the controversy and said it hadn't marred her evening. She added: "He came to see me after and apologized. The Ballon d'Or is the most important thing."

Before the ceremony, Hegerberg told The Guardian that she found it "really frustrating" that sport remains "such a man's world". — AFP