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Norwegian Handball Team Refuse To Wear Bikini Bottoms

Norwegian Handball Team Refuse To Wear Bikini Bottoms

The Norwegian federation supported the team, saying it was willing to pay a fine

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

Norway's female handball team have said they will not wear bikini bottoms during the Olympic Games this summer.

Players swapped the traditional bikini bottoms for shorts during a match against Spain at the European Beach Handball Championship in Varna, Bulgaria, yesterday (18 July).

And the Norwegian federation has stated that it is willing to pay a fine - potentially 50 euros per player - for their defiance of the rules.

Speaking to AFP, Norwegian Handball Federation president Kare Geir Lio said: "Of course we would pay any fine. We are all in the same boat.

"The most important thing is to have equipment that athletes are comfortable with."

The Norway team wore shorts during a recent match against Spain.
Twitter

The European Handball Federation confirmed that it was aware of the situation, however, a decision with regards to any possible sanctions had not yet been made.

EHF spokesman Andrew Barringer said: "The EHF is committed to bring this topic forward in the interest of its member federations, however it must also be said that a change of the rules can only happen at IHF level."

Previously, two German volleyball players hit the headlines after they said they would not compete at a tournament in Qatar because they would not be allowed to wear bikini bottoms.

Karla Borger said at the time: "We are there to do our job, but we are being prevented from wearing our work clothes.

"This is really the only country and the only tournament where a government tells us how to do our job - we are criticising that."

Last month, a Serbian volleyball player was suspended for making a racist gesture during a match against Thailand.

Sanja Djurdjevic made a 'slant-eyed' gesture at the game in Rimini, Italy during a FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League match.

Following an investigation, FIVB decided the gesture was inappropriate.

She has now been benched for two games and her sporting federation has been fined 20,000 Swiss francs (AUD$28,872).

The governing body said in a statement: "The FIVB disciplinary panel subcommittee, which is the independent body competent to impose disciplinary sanctions within FIVB competitions, has found that Ms Sanja Djurdjevic, a player of the Serbia women's national volleyball team, violated the FIVB disciplinary regulations following a gesture made during the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2021 match between Serbia and Thailand on 1 June 2021.

"Ms Sanja Djurdjevic has received a two-match suspension.

"The player will serve her match suspensions during the VNL 2021 matches and will therefore miss Serbia's match on 8 and 12 June 2021 against Belgium and Canada respectively.

"In addition, the Volleyball Federation of Serbia has been fined CHF 20.000."

Featured Image Credit: Twitter

Topics: olympic games, No-Article-Matching, Norway, no-video-matching