A 12-year-old girl was kicked out of a chess tournament in Malaysia halfway through competition after a referee deemed her dress was “too distracting”.
Writing on Facebook, the young girl’s coach said she was left “harassed and humiliated” by the man’s actions.
“In the middle of Round 2, (without stopping the clocks) Chief Arbiter informs my student that the dress she wore was improper and have violated the dress code of the tournament,” the coach, Kaushal Kal, wrote.
He said the student and her mother were later informed that the tournament’s director had deemed her dress to be “seductive” and said it was a “temptation from a certain angle far, far away”.
The girl’s coach shared an image of what the girl was wearing at the time:
In the words of Kaushal Kal, the tournament's ruling is "completely ridiculous".
But the saga wasn't over yet.
"After some discussion, Chief Arbiter had conceded and apologised to my student, personally assuring her that there was nothing wrong with her attire, but due to Tournament Director's decision, he could not allow this dress to be worn," he continued.
"This discussion happened at around 10pm and Chief Arbiter gave them a choice to go to the mall nearby to buy a long slack for the next day 9.00am round. Due to the timing of this incident, it was impossible to get another attire in time for the 9.00am round next day, as all shops were already closed and wouldn't be open in time."