Two tall images beach volleyball players plan on boycott of upcoming tournament in Qatar over requests for female players to wear trousers and shirts on the court.
German stars Karla Borger and Julia Sude have vowed not to attend an upcoming FIVB World Cup event in the Middle East country over the request, despite the Qatar Football Association insisting that players connected to the application.
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Speaking to radio station Deutschlandfunk over the weekend, Borger said she and Sude were taking over after being advised not to wear their ‘work clothes’ while playing.
“We’re there to do our job, but we’re being banned from wearing our work clothes,” Borger said.
“It’s really the only country and the only competition where a government tells us how to do our job – we criticize that. ”
A statement from the Qatar Football Association said athletes were free to wear the existing national uniform, explaining that they were ‘committed to ensuring that athletes are welcomed and comforted’. at next month ‘s event’.
“We would like to make it clear that we are not making any claims on what athletes should wear at the event,” the statement read.
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Female players have been asked to wear shirts and trousers for the first women’s beach volleyball event to be held in Qatar, which has held men’s events for the past seven years.
The international governing body for the sport, the FIVB (Fédération Internationale de Volleyball), said the request was made ‘out of respect for the culture and traditions of the host country’.
But Borger and Sude, who were unwilling to attend the tournament, questioned the wisdom of hosting athletic events in Qatar, concerned about a combination of hot and brutal situations. damp for athletes, the questionable record of the country’s human rights and its lack of a well-known sporting history.
“We’re wondering if it’s necessary to hold a competition at all,” said Borger.
The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships, held in Qatar’s capital Doha, also great controversy because of the unfavorable circumstances.
The event attracted very few spectators and the extreme heat caused major problems for athletes in several sports, especially the marathon runners.
At the time, decathlon star and Olympic silver medalist Kevin Mayer described the event as an ‘accident’.
“We all see that it’s a disaster, no one is in the stands, and the heat hasn’t changed at all,” he said.
“Nearly 30 draws have already been made in the women ‘s marathon. It’ s sad.
“We need to set aside a reason and focus more on the passion, because otherwise I would have been a boy of these competitions.
“We have not prioritized athletes when organizing the competitions here. It makes it difficult.”
The AFP
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