German professional beach volleyball stars Karla Borger and Julia Sude said on Sunday that they would not be going to Qatar for a tournament because of an issue involving their game suit.
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 World Beach Volleyball Championship in 2013. Sude partnered mainly with Chantal Labouruer during his career. Sude and Borger have been teammates since 2019.
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“We are there to do our job, but we are being prevented from wearing our work clothes,” Borger told a German radio station. “This is really the only country and the only tournament where a government tells us how to do our job – we are criticizing that.”
Borger added that, given the extreme temperatures in the Middle East, “We are asking whether it is necessary to hold a tournament there.”
Julia Sude, left, and Karla Borger of Germany react to the women’s bronze medal against Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson of Canada on the fifth day of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Tokyo, test event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, at Shiokaze Park on July 28, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Kiyoshi Ota / Getty Images)
The women’s part of the World Tour of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) goes to Doha, Qatar, for the first time next month. The players were asked to wear shirts and long pants for the event, according to The Guardian.
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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 told Der Spiegel of Germany that they “would not agree” with Qatar’s rules. The country’s climate would make the bikinis necessary for participation in the tournament.
Sude also pointed out that there were no changes when the country hosted the World Athletics Championship in 2019.
The Qatar Volleyball Association said athletes can wear their national uniforms, according to Yahoo.
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“We would like to make it clear that we are not charging what athletes should wear at the event,” said the organization.
The country has allowed volleyball players to compete in bikinis until the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games and the 2006 Asian Games, according to the Daily Mail.