Badminton star who took period break has penalty removed

Kirsty Gilmour was given a yellow card during the All England Open in Birmingham match after leaving the court to deal with her period

A badminton player who overran a bathroom break while attending to her period has had a penalty removed by the sport's governing body.

Kirsty Gilmour, 31, had been given a yellow card during the match with world number one An Se-young at the All England Open in Birmingham.

Gilmour, from Bellshill in North Lanarkshire, was disciplined for "delaying play" after failing to return within the allotted two minute time limit.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has now overturned the card, stating the officials wrongly applied the rules.

Gilmour, a three-time Team GB Olympian who won silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, had called for a rule change as a result of the incident, which would allow "leniency" for those who have periods.

She told STV News there was "no protocol" in the BWF rules for such situations.

Under the governing body's laws of the game, players are not allowed to leave the court without the umpire's permission.

They are permitted a two minute pause between the first and second, and second and third games of each set.

Gilmour won a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

However, Gilmour's departure from the court was delayed as she had to explain her situation to the umpire. That delay meant she went over the two minute limit.

She was given a yellow card for the offence. BWF rules state that three yellow cards within a year carry a $500 (£386) fine.

A separate rule allows for a suspension of play when "necessitated by circumstances not within the control of the players".

Gilmour said the lack of clarification around the laws meant officials were "making it up on the spot".

Gilmour lost the match in three sets to South Korean Se-young.

She had just taken the second set 21-16 at the time of the pause.

Se-young went on to win the tournament with a three-set win over China's Wang Zhiyi in the final.

'Common sense'

BWF secretary general, Thomas Lund, said the rules allowed for "a flexible, common sense application" depending on player need.

He said there was no need for a change in the rules to accommodate periods.

Mr Lund added: "A yellow card was issued by the umpire for delay upon the player's return to the field of play.

"Following an official review by the BWF referee team, the yellow card has since been cancelled, as the delay was caused by the umpire not immediately allowing the player to leave the field of play for the toilet break."

Mr Lund said the BWF had an educational programme dedicated to informing players and coaches about menstruation and its impact on athletes' performance.

Several sports have made accommodations for players who have periods.

Livingston Football Club's women's side switched from white to black away shorts in 2022 in order to "reduce anxiety during the menstrual cycle".

A number of other clubs and national sides have since followed suit.

Wimbledon officials also relaxed rules around all-white outfits by allowing female competitors to wear mid or dark coloured undershorts should they choose to do so.