This summer, the Norwegian women's national team in beach handball was fined for playing in shorts during a European Championship match in Bulgaria.

The choice of clothing went against the International Handball Federation's (IHF) regulations which required women to play in a bikini.

Last week, the IHF came up with a revised set of rules that will take effect from the turn of the year.

In it, the bikini compulsion, which has been criticized by the world artist Pink, Sweden's Minister of Sports Amanda Lind (MP) and has become a Nordic ministerial issue, has been removed.

"It's tragic"

- It is tragic that it takes so much writing in the press and in the celebrity world for something to happen.

Norway submitted a motion before these writings, so hopefully they (IHF) had taken it up anyway.

But it is difficult to answer why there was a change, says Madeleine Gustafsson, the national captain of Sweden's U17 national team on the women's side in beach handball, to TT.

Like the men, the ladies will be allowed to play in linen and shorts.

On the other hand, the ladies' tops should be "body-fitting" and the bottoms be "short tight shorts", so-called hotpants.

The gentlemen agree

- It is clear that there is a difference between sports tops and panties and linen and hotpants.

Then the question is why it has to be tight, and how tight?

Who will judge if it is tight on me and tight on someone else, it remains to be seen.

I think it is strange that they print the word tight in the regulations, says Gustafsson.

Men's national team player Jesper Knutsson thinks that it is time for the rules to change, but that the IHF also to some extent misses the mark.

- What are we really talking about here?

When it comes to the visual, there is so little difference between shorts and tight shorts.

People will not run around in any size shorts, we on the men's side must not have that either.

What's the problem with letting the ladies play in shorts, just like the men?

It will be so ridiculous why the IHF does not take the whole step, he says to Handbollskanalen who was the first to report on the rule change.

Guess more changes

Madeleine Gustafsson started playing beach handball internationally in 2017 and questioned the then bikini compulsion.

- Even then, when you got home the clothes to play in, a thought was: "But hey?".

Even then, we talked in the team about why and we discussed with the men about why they can play in shorts and underwear and we in panties and bras.

It is clear that it has always been an element that has been talked about, at the same time I have played for the sake of the sport and not really cared about the clothes in that way.

Once you are there, you just have to accept the situation and play, she says.

TT: Given the debate that has been going on, what do you think will happen next?

- Hard to say.

In the coming championships it will be these rules and then we will see.

After that, you may well take action if it still feels strange.

Going forward, there will still be changes, I think.

CLIP: Swedish minister rages over bikini coercion (July 29, 2021)

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Amanda Lind thinks the bikini rule is absurd.

Photo: TT / SVT