Wambach Admits Cocaine and Marijuana

Abby Wambach

World Cup winner and two-time Olympic champion Abby Wambach has admitted taking cocaine and smoking marijuana.

American Wambach, the world's all-time leading international goalscorer, was arrested on Saturday for drink-driving.

Court documents connected to the 35-year-old's arrest said that "the defendant tried cocaine at age 25".

Mini USA, one of Wambach's sponsors, said it was withdrawing adverts for the car featuring the former footballer, who retired in December.

In a statement, it said: "This behaviour is against the values we promote as an organisation and the safety of everyone on the road is a priority here at Mini."

Wambach, who scored 184 goals in 255 games and helped the USA to 2015 World Cup glory, was arraigned on Tuesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Portland.

She was not present, but her lawyer entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf. Court documents said Wambach has no prior arrest record.

In court documents, officers wrote that she first used marijuana at age 24 and her last use was at 25. A Portland police spokesman said it is standard procedure for officers to ask defendants about prior drug use.

Honours and awards

2015 World Cup winner

2004 and 2012 Olympic gold medallist

2012 Fifa world player of the year

2011 Associated Press female athlete of the year

Six-time US soccer athlete of the year (2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013)

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Wambach Apologises for DUI Arrest

Abby Wambach

Retired U.S. soccer champ  was arrested late Saturday night for driving under the influence in Portland, Oregon, authorities said.

Wambach, 35, was charged with a misdemeanour's and released on her own recognisance, jail records show.

In a statement, Portland Police said that Wambach was pulled over shortly after 11 p.m. when a police officer saw her drive through a red light. After failing a sobriety test, she was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, the statement said.

In a note posted on her Facebook page, Wambach apologised and said that she was arrested after having dinner at a friend's house.

"Those that know me, know that I have always demanded excellence from myself. I have let myself and others down," she wrote. "I take full responsibility for my actions. This is all on me. I promise that I will do whatever it takes to ensure that my horrible mistake is never repeated."

Wambach added: "I am so sorry to my family, friends, fans and those that look to follow a better example."

In a statement, one of Wambach's sponsors, the car brand Mini, said it was pulling ads that feature her.

"We're obviously concerned about the alleged DUI attributed to Abby Wambach," the statement said. "This behaviour is against the values we promote as an organisation and the safety of everyone on the road is a priority here at MINI. Because of this, we are re-evaluating her association with the brand and are pulling content that individually features Abby from our marketing."

Some sponsors, including Nike, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Gatorade, citing Wambach's "heartfelt" Facebook post, said it "has no further comment at this time."

Wambach, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, retired last October, just three months after she played on the U.S. women's team that beat Japan 5-2 in the World Cup finals.

Since retiring, Wambach has actively campaigned for Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton and pushed FIFA, the international soccer association that has been under fire over allegations of widespread corruption, to include more women on its executive committee.

Wambach's arrest comes three days after several of her former team-mates announced that they were filing a wage-discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that will seek pay that equals male players

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