TAMPA (NBC) – The Norwegian women’s beach handball team has been fined for refusing to play in bikini bottoms during a European championship game.
The team wore thigh-length elastic shorts during their bronze medal match against Spain in Bulgaria on Sunday to protest against the regulation bikini-bottom design that the sport’s Norwegian federation president called “embarrassing.”
The team was fined 1,500 euros total ($1,700) for “improper clothing,” according to a statement from the European Handball Association’s Disciplinary Commission.
According to International Handball Federation (IHF) regulations, female athletes must wear bikini bottoms with a side width a maximum of 10 centimeters (3.9 inches), with a “close fit” and “cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg.”
Meanwhile, men must wear shorts that are “not too baggy” and 10 centimeters above the kneecap.
“It’s not [appropriate clothing for] the activity when they are playing in the sand,” Norwegian Handball Federation President Kåre Geir Lio told NBC News. The women’s team trains and competes in “what they want, like the boys” at home in Norway, but is subject to the International Handball Federation’s clothing rules when playing abroad, he said.
The Norwegian Handball Association (NHF) said on Twitter on Tuesday: “We are very proud of these girls who during the European Championships raised their voices and announced that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.”
“We at NHF stand behind and support you. Together we will continue to fight to change the clothing regulations, so that players are allowed to play in the clothes they are comfortable with,” the NHF added.
