Viktor Axelsen was fined $250 (USD) by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) for a dress code violation in the final of the All England Championships.
BWF rules dictate that opponents in a match wear “significantly different coloured clothing.” Such rules, especially in a team sport like football, prevent confusion for officials, players and spectators.
In the men’s singles final of the All England, both Axelsen and Chou Tien Chen wore white outfits.
Chou Tien Chen, being the number one seed in the tournament, had the right to choose the colour of his choice. This meant that Axelsen was required to change the colour of his clothing, which he didn’t.
Axelsen was quoted as saying by TV2 Sports, “I did it because I had played in white the whole tournament, and I also knew how important it was to my sponsor, Yonex, that we ran this theme.
(Yonex presented all its athletes with white outfits to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Yonex All England.)
“In this situation, I think the rule is a bit ridiculous. It looked good, and for example, in Wimbledon, everyone plays in white.”
Axelsen is not worried about the minimal fine that he paid though. The $250 fine doesn’t even put the slightest dent on the $77,000 prize money that he got for winning the All England.