Volleyball star shocked by suspension amid gender suspicion: 'Just because I have short hair, they doubt I'm a woman'

A shocking incident is unfolding in European sports in Albania, where Brazilian volleyball player Nayara Ferreira has been asked by the Albanian Volleyball Federation (FSHV) to undergo a gender verification test and has been temporarily suspended from competition, following doubts raised by rival teams about her true gender.

Brazilian volleyball player required to take gender test in Albania: “I feel shattered”

Ferreira currently plays for Dinamo club in the Albanian women's volleyball championship. She said she was "stunned and devastated" by this decision. "I feel ruined, like I’m losing my mind. I don’t understand why this is happening to me. I ask myself every day in my room, but still have no answer," she shared with DW.

According to FSHV, the suspension followed complaints and documents submitted by two rival teams requesting a review of Ferreira’s gender. In a statement sent to Dinamo club, FSHV specified it would conduct "necessary analyses to verify the natural physical ability and determine the gender of player Estephanie Goulart Ferreira Nayara."

Ferreira said she had never been questioned about her gender during her eight-year professional career in seven countries including Spain, Portugal, France, the Czech Republic, Finland, and two seasons in Saudi Arabia. "They asked me to take a gender test, something that never happened before. I have no words to describe this feeling. Why are they doing this? Is it because of my face, my hair, or because I have muscles?" Ferreira said.

Though feeling insulted, she voluntarily took the test to "help Dinamo club and avoid trouble." "I don’t need to prove I’m a woman, because I am 100% a woman," Ferreira asserted.