Exclusive Details
No bikini? No deal.
Two world-class beach volleyball pros from Germany say they will boycott an upcoming tournament in Qatar over a policy that prohibits women from wearing skimpy bikinis on the court.
The women behind the boycott are 32-year-old Karla Borger and 33-year-old Julia Sude — two respected veterans in the sport who compete for the German national team.
The two were set to play in an FIVB World Tour event in Qatar in March — where the weather is expected to be a searing 85 degrees — but they’re bailing over the uniform policy for women in the Muslim country.
According to reports, female volleyball players have been asked to wear shirts and long pants instead of bikinis out of respect for the host country.
The Qatar Volleyball Association is making it seem like it’s more of a request than a rule. It’s also issued a statement saying athletes are allowed to compete in their international uniforms … which are basically less-skimpy bikinis.
Check out the FIVB uniform guide from Oct. 2019 — which would apply to the tourney in Qatar. It’s basically a bikini with a little more coverage.
Still, the Germans aren’t happy and don’t want to compromise.
“We are there to do our job, but are being prevented from wearing our work clothes,” Borger reportedly told German radio station Deutschlandfunk on Sunday.
“This is really the only country and the only tournament where a government tells us how to do our job — we are criticizing that.”
There seem to be bigger issues bothering the woman than the uniform rules — including alleged human rights violations in the country.
“We are asking whether it’s necessary to hold a tournament there at all,” Borger added.