Swedish soccer player Fischer: “At the World Cup, they were forced to show their genitals to prove they were women”

Swedish players were forced to expose their genitals during the 2011 Women 's World Cup . Nilla Fischer , one of Sweden 's players at that World Cup , revealed this in her autobiography 'I Didn't Even Say Half of It' , describing the practice she and her teammates were forced to undergo as "humiliating" following protests by Nigeria , South Africa and Ghana against FIFA over Equatorial Guinea's alleged presence of men in its squad.

The check-up was performed by a female physiotherapist on behalf of the doctor. "We were told not to shave in the following days and to show our genitals to the doctor ," writes Fischer , who has won 194 caps for the national team . " No one understood this hair removal thing, but we did as we were told, thinking, 'How did it come to this? Why are we forced to do it now, there must be other ways to do it... should we refuse?' At the same time, however, no one wanted to jeopardize the opportunity to play in a World Cup. So we did it, no matter how sick and humiliating it was."

In an interview with the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, Fischer went into even more detail. "I understand what I have to do and quickly pull down my training shorts and underwear ," she revealed. " The physiotherapist nods and says 'yes,' then looks at the doctor standing with his back to the door. She takes note and continues down the corridor to knock on the next door. Once all the players had been checked, the team doctor signed the document certifying that the Swedish women's national football team was composed entirely of women."