Norway’s women’s beach handball players are being charged with a fine of €150 each due to wearing shorts instead of the required bikini bottoms.
According to the rules of the International Handball Federation, women are required to bikini bottoms ‘with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg’ as compared to men who are required to wear shorts if four inches above their knees.
When asked about the rationale of this rule, a spokeswoman for the International Handball Federation stated that the reason is not known but it will be investigated.
Discontentment among women over this ruling is taking over Twitter rapidly. One user tweeted, “I would like to see men play sports in bikinis. Go ahead, try it. Try to keep everything in place in what is essentially underwear.” Another woman tweeted that, “In some cases, women have been fined for their uniforms being too long. In others, the uniforms have been too short.”
According to the spokeswoman of the International Handball Federation, different standard for the uniforms worn by male and female athletes are to be followed: shorts for men and bikini bottom for women.
