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What's the story?
In what is a truly bizarre piece of news, the head coach of the Thailand women's kabaddi team was reportedly caught with a headscarf over his head in order to gain entry into one of the matches that the Iranian women's team was taking part in.
Reports suggest that the coach entered the premises of the match and wore two different colours of headscarves in order to blend in with the other women around. The act has been strongly condemned by the local sports authority and the Iranian Federation, who considered it a gross violation of the rules of the host country for the Asian Kabaddi Championships, which concluded on Sunday.
In case you didn't know...
Laws in Iran are still very strong when it comes to men and women's sports competitions and no man is allowed entry into one of the matches that the women are a part of.
The heart of the matter
Most of social media has been having a good laugh at the bizarre incident from Iran but there is mounting pressure on the Thai contingent to issue an immediate apology for the actions of their own coach. The actions of the coach have been taken very seriously by a country whose laws are very strict on gender-related issues.
There is also currently a rule in Iran that women are not allowed to watch men perform, with football matches being a prime example of the same and with interest of women's safety the cited reason.
What's next?
The exact reasons for the coach's visit to the matches seem uncertain but it is likely he was assessing the home's side's strength with the chances of the two sides facing off in the semifinals.
Author's take
The development surely came as a surprise to readers and it certainly tickles one's funny bones to witness an aged man wear a headscarf to watch kabaddi.
