FIFA forced all the Swedish players who participated in the 2011 World Cup to go through a gender test and show their genitals to be able to play the tournament. This move was in response to allegations by Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana that there were men on the Equatorial Guinea squad.
This scandal was revealed by the former Swedish player, Nilla Fischer, in her autobiography entitled 'Jag sa inte ens hälften” (I didn't say the half). The Swede recounted in the pages of her book the details of the humiliating moment that happened before the World Cup.
"When I found out about the surprising requirement, I fumed. In the middle of a World Cup, the FIFA bigwigs want us to show our genitals," says Fischer of the moment they learned of the embarrassing order from the soccer governing body.
The story continues with the details of the scandalous mandate received. "They told us not to shave 'down there' for the next few days and to show our genitals to the doctor. No one understood shaving, but we did as we were told and thought 'how did we come to this?' 'Why are we being forced to do this now?'"
Fischer said that the examination was finally carried out by a physiotherapist, while the doctor in charge stood on his back. "I understood what I had to do. I quickly dropped my training pants and underwear at the same time. The physio nodded and said 'yes,' and then looked at the doctor who had his back to me. He made a note and moved down the hall. hallway to knock next door," he said.
The former soccer player also explained that, after all her teammates were examined, the team doctor signed a document confirming that all the Swedish soccer players were women.
She also recounts that they considered refusing to take the test, but in the end all the soccer players did it for fear of not being able to play in the World Cup. “There have to be other ways to do it. Should we refuse? At the same time, nobody wanted to jeopardize the chance to play in a World Cup. We just had to do that m… no matter how sick and humiliating it feels," said the Swede.
The former defender assures that the invasive procedure was "disgusting and humiliating" and told the media in her country that "The way it was done was excessive. I think that was why none of the players have told us so far. we realized that it would only be talked about. As I write in the book, it was not pleasant at all."
Fischer played four World Cups and three Olympic Games with his team, as well as a six-year stint at German Wolfsburg, and ensures that this test was never repeated in any other tournament.
The fact was confirmed by who at the time was the doctor for the Swedish team, Mats Börjesson, and also came out in defense of FIFA after ensuring that the measure was not imposed with malicious intent.
"FIFA does not do these things in bad faith. The sport has tried to do justice to the girls, so they don't train all their lives and then find themselves with something that is an absurd advantage," the doctor told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.
The regulation for the "sexual identity verification for FIFA tournaments" was published on June 8, 2011, weeks before the start of the World Cup and indicates that "In FIFA competitions neither mandatory nor routine verification tests will be carried out It is up to each member association to ensure, before the appointment of its national team, the correct sexual identification of all its players."
In addition, it stipulates that when verifying sexual identity, a process must be followed. "The team doctor will provide the documents required for a detailed investigation, such as the medical history, the levels of sexual hormones, diagnosis, treatment and updated results," specifies the document, which at no time mentions the examination to which the soccer players were subjected. Swedish.
