A FEMALE reporter has accused a smiling football mascot of sexual harassment after he grabbed her and pushed at her head.
Gisele Kumpel was left disgusted by the man’s alleged actions after she claimed his sweat could even be felt through the costume when he unwillingly hugged her.
Kumpel, a female broadcaster who works on football matches in Brazil, labelled the man behind the costume an “idiot” and a “criminal” for the alleged acts.
The claims say that Kumpel was forcefully hugged by the Internacional mascot, known as Saci, after a winning goal in the game.
Kumpel then described having her head pushed as the embrace continued for far too long.
The final allegation against the man was that he made a kissing gesture in her direction – an act that left her horrified and feeling singled out among her fellow male reporters.
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I could hear the sound of the kiss and I felt his sweat
Gisele Kumpel
Kumpel spoke out against the mascot describing what she claims happened: “He came up to me and hugged me.
“He stayed hugging me. Even with the mask on, he pushed my head and made a gesture of kissing me.
“I could hear the sound of the kiss and I felt his sweat.
“I was the only woman on that side of the field. There were other journalists, but he only did that to me.”
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She later took to social media to say: “Another day of women wanting to do their job in football and suffering for it with idiots who are criminals.”
The shocking allegations were all given to the police who are now investigating them.
Internatcional also handed over any pitch side footage they had from the game.
The mascot has been suspended by the club but is yet to be formally named by them or local media.
International said in a statement: “Regarding the registration of an incident related to the figure of the Saci mascot, Sport Club Internacional informs that it sent the images of its internal monitoring circuit to the Police Station in charge of investigating the episode.”
“We trust that all the facts will be duly clarified with the authority police.
“Therefore, and pending the prompt resolution of the case, the employee responsible for the mascot and the Club itself will remain at the disposal of the authorities.
“Until the process is completed, the employee will be separated from the representation of Saci.”
Kumpel showed pictures of herself at the local police station online after speaking to cops about the alleged harassment.
She vowed to keep up with her complaints and make sure they are dealt with properly “so that no other woman goes through this”.
All of the allegations come from Internacional’s clash with Gremio on February, 25.
The wide-eyed mascot who wears Internacional’s classic red home strip and cap was celebrating a last gasp winner in the highly competitive contest that ended 3-2.
Saci is permanently seen with a big grinning smile on his huge foam head.
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The shocking claims wrecked what should’ve been a night of celebrations in Porto Alegre as the team went top of the table in the Brasileirão Série A.
Video later emerged of Kumpel behind the goal at the game with Saci standing nearby.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
