German professional beach volleyball stars Karla Borger and Julia Sude said on Sunday that they were not going to Qatar for a tournament on an issue over their playing clothes.
Borger represented Germany at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but lost along with teammate Britta Buthe in the round of 16. The pair won silver at the Beach Volleyball World Championships in 2013. In her career, Sude has mostly collaborated with Chantal Labouruer. . Sude and Borger have been teammates since 2019.
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“We are there to do our job, but are prevented from wearing our work clothes,” Borger told a German radio station. “It’s actually the only country and the only tournament where a government tells us how to do our job – we criticize it.”
Borger added that “we are asking if it is at all necessary to hold a tournament there, given the extreme temperatures in the Middle East.”
Julia Sude, left, and Karla Borger of Germany respond to the fifth women’s bronze medal match against Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson of Canada on day five of the FIVB World Volleyball World Cup Tokyo, Tokyo 2020 Olympics Test event, in Shiokaze Park on 28 July, 2019, in Tokyo, Japan. (Kiyoshi Ota / Getty Images)
The women’s part of the International Volleyball Federation’s (FIVB) World Cup is going to Doha, Qatar for the first time next month. According to The Guardian, female players were asked to wear long shirts and pants for the occasion.
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The FIVB says the request was, out of respect for the culture and traditions of the host country, according to The Guardian.
Borger and Sude both told Der Der Spiegel that they would not abide by the Qatar rules. The weather in the country would require bikinis to play in the tournament.
Sude also pointed out that no changes were made when the country hosted the 2019 World Championships in Athletics.
The Qatar Volleyball Association said athletes were allowed to wear their national uniform, according to Yahoo.
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“We want to make it clear that we are not making any demands on what athletes should wear during the event,” the organization said.
The country has allowed female volleyball players to participate in bikinis as recently as the ANOC World Beach Games and the 2006 Asian Games, according to The Daily Mail.