Gender control for the World Cup: the Swedish players had to undress

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Women’s football is currently preparing for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which will take place from July 20 to August 20. She has also contested three such World Championships, twice placing third, once second. And for one of these matches, the entire Swedish team had to undergo an extremely unpleasant check.

Prior to the 2011 World Cup in Germany, there were rumors that there were men in Equatorial Guinea’s squad. FIFA’s response was to urge all countries to subject their players to a gender-safety check. FIFA’s newly established rule at the time stated: “It is the responsibility of each participating association to … ensure the correct gender of all players by actively investigating perceived gender discrepancies.”

DNA testing is the safe option

After the test, all team doctors had to sign a statement, which without exception confirmed the above rule. Most teams opted for the safe, cheap and easy mouth swab, which uses DNA to determine if the given gender is correct.

However, this test was not applied to Fischer and her teammates. Instead, everyone had to enter a room individually and undress completely in front of the physiotherapist so she could check their sex characteristics. “It was totally humiliating,” writes the ex-Wolfsburg resident. “We didn’t know why we had to do this. Wasn’t there another way? Should we refuse?”

“I had to act fast”

During the check, the doctor was in the room, turned around when the players took off their underwear and waited for the physios to give permission. “While I felt safe and in good hands with the team, the experience was still strange and extremely unpleasant,” says Fischer. The story was confirmed to The Guardian by the team’s doctor at the time, who justified the unusual scrutiny by saying he had to act quickly as FIFA had asked for the tests and signatures as soon as possible.

The most inconvenient part was that all players in Sweden’s squad were asked not to shave. “No one understood that. What does shaving have to do with our genitals?” Fischer and her teammates wondered.

FIFA informs The Guardian that it has taken note of the statements of those involved. (nsa)

Source : Blick