Hope Solo couldn’t kick a ball on Wednesday without “Zika” being roared from the stands.
The US goalkeeper was reminded that a tweet she sent a fortnight ago had not been forgotten by the Brazilian public, who taunted her repeatedly as the US women’s football team got their Olympics underway.
The US started their campaign with a 2-0 victory over New Zealand in Belo Horizonte but Solo was not exactly welcomed with open arms by the 10,000 strong in attendance.
Not sharing this!!! Get your own! #zikaproof #RoadToRio pic.twitter.com/y3d8hnuEjk
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) July 22, 2016
If anyone in the village forgets to pack repellent, come and see me…#DeptOfDefense #zikaproof pic.twitter.com/x8RdUV6M7c
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) July 22, 2016
The veteran stopper had sent the above lighthearted tweets about the Zika virus in the run-up to Rio 2016 and they were received angrily by Brazilian fans.
Despite apologising for the posts after arriving in Brazil, supporters weren’t willing to forgive her quite yet as they responded with roars of “Zika” every time Solo took a kick-out.
https://twitter.com/deardebnam/status/761034124740038657
“I’m glad the fans had fun, and if they had fun at my expense, more power to them,” Solo said after the game.
We wonder if she was still as forgiving in the United States’ second game when – you guessed it – the exact same thing happened.
https://twitter.com/BrazilStats2/status/762181529065971712
As a veteran of multiple Olympic Games and three World Cups, we’d wager Solo has seen and heard a lot in her time on the pitch.
But this is probably a new one, even for her.
