Berlin (AFP)

German beach volleyball stars Karla Borger and Julia Sude have announced they will boycott a tournament in Qatar due to a bikini ban on the pitch, a move Qatari organizers say they did not request.

"We are there to do our work but we are prevented from wearing our work clothes," said Karla Borger Sunday evening on the airwaves of German public radio Deutschlandfunk.

"This is really the only country and the only tournament where a government tells us how to do our job. We criticize that," added the sportswoman, vice-world champion.

Qatar will host an International Beach Volleyball Federation (FIVB) tournament in March.

This is the first time that this small Gulf state has hosted such a FIVB women's tournament, after having organized a men's competition for seven years, and in 2019 the World Beach Games, where players were allowed to wear a swimsuit. bath.

The players were advised to wear T-shirts and long pants rather than the usual high-cut swimsuits, a decision motivated according to the International Beach Volleyball Federation by "respect for the culture and traditions of the host country".

The Qatari Volleyball Federation (QVA), organizer of the tournament, assured in a statement sent to AFP that it had made no request in this direction.

- sportswomen welcome -

"We want to make it clear that we did not specify in any way what sportswomen should wear at this event. We fully respect the code of conduct issued by the International Federation and have shown in the past at events organized in Qatar that sportswomen are free to wear the same outfits they wear in other countries, ”she said.

"We want all sportswomen to feel welcome and at ease during this tournament which will be historic for Qatar," QVA insisted.

In Spiegel magazine, Karla Borger insisted that while in normal times she was happy to "adapt to a country", the extreme heat in Qatar makes it necessary to wear a bikini.

Her teammate Julia Sude noted that Qatar made exceptions for female athletes at the World Athletics Championships in Doha in 2019.

On Deutschlandfunk, Karla Borger questioned the relevance of designating Qatar as the host country of such a competition.

"We are wondering if there is really a need for a tournament to be held there," she said.

Qatar, which is due to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, has made a specialty of organizing major sporting events, despite several controversies, particularly around its lack of tradition in competitive sport, its extreme climate, as well as the working conditions of employees at certain sports venues.

© 2021 AFP