Hope Solo suspended six months for comments about Sweden during Olympics

US Soccer has come down on Hope Solo and her comments on Sweden after the United States’ loss in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament, handing the goalkeeper a six-month suspension. As a result, Solo will not be eligible for international competition until February, and will miss the team’s friendly against the Netherlands in Atlanta on September 18.

US Soccer president Sunil Gulati made it clear in a statement released on Wednesday evening that the length of the suspension was affected by Solo’s past disciplinary issues and actions.

The comments by Hope Solo after the match against Sweden during the 2016 Olympics were unacceptable and do not meet the standard of conduct we require from our National Team players...Taking into consideration the past incidents involving Hope, as well as the private conversations we’ve had requiring her to conduct herself in a manner befitting a U.S. National Team member, U.S. Soccer determined this is the appropriate disciplinary action.

The federation also moved to terminate Solo’s contract, so it appears that her time with the USWNT is over barring a change of face between now and February.

While Solo is considered one of the world’s top goalkeepers, this is not the first time she has missed time due to disciplinary measures. In 2010, after critical comments made on Twitter towards WPS during her tenure with the Atlanta Beat, she received a one-game ban and a $2,500 fine. In January 2015, she was suspended by US Soccer for a month due to an “incident” that occurred during training camp in California - believed to be related to the arrest of her husband, former NFLer Jerramy Stevens, on a DUI charge in a vehicle in which she was a passenger.

This latest suspension - during which she can still play for her professional club, Seattle Reign FC - equals the federation sending a strong message in hopes that Solo will, as the statement says, “conduct herself” more professionally moving forward.