A female footballer with suspected autism has been given a six-match ban after asking a “bearded” transgender opponent: “Are you a man?” (GB News, Mail, Telegraph).
In the latest case to raise major questions about the Football Association’s ongoing failure to ban those born male from the women’s game, the 17-year-old charged by her county FA with saying, “Are you a man?”, “That’s a man”, “Don’t come here again”, or similar comments during a pre-season friendly back in July.
The girl was charged after the opposition club lodged a complaint via Kick It Out, English football’s anti-discrimination watchdog, which included testimony from the trans player and that team’s captain accusing her of persistent transphobia.
During the three-hour hearing last week, the 17-year-old wept as she was found guilty of “discrimination” by a National Serious Case Panel over remarks made during a match against a trans-inclusive club.
The FA decided against publishing written reasons for the case.
In a written statement submitted in her defence, the girl said she had become “confused” about the participation of the trans player during the match in question due to the latter “wearing jewellery and sunglasses” and not being in opposition kit.
She added: “The moment the player clarified they were transgender (which I previously hadn’t considered), I respected their answer fully, dropped the situation and immediately shifted my focus back to the game before seeking guidance from the referee.
“I raised a concern about the risk of serious injury as a 17-year-old girl playing against a biological male who was much larger than me and a very physical player, which was possibly a safety issue as I did not want to get dangerously injured right before the start of the new season.
“Despite this, I made it clear that if the player met the eligibility criteria of the FA I would respect the rules and accept the risk involved in continuing to play the match. My safeguarding officer and the referee were both present for this conversation.”
Her parents were outraged both by the hearing and the outcome. Speaking to the Telegraph, her mother said: “We’ve always taught our daughter to ask questions, and if she doesn’t feel comfortable or she doesn’t feel safe then she should go to somebody in charge and ask the question.
“In safeguarding training at places of work, you’re always told that you should question everything but she’s been told and effectively sanctioned by the FA for doing so.
“The FA is essentially saying that no woman, when faced with what appears to be a male on the pitch, is entitled to ask a question.”
The banned player’s plight had previously been cited by former FA chairman Lord Triesman, who wrote to the governing body’s current chair and chief executive last month to complain about its trans policy, which allows those born male to play in the women’s game.
In a sharply critical letter to Debbie Hewitt and Mark Bullingham, the FA’s chair and chief executive respectively, Lord Triesman, who served as the organisation’s first independent chairman from 2008 to 2010, argues that his successors’ approach is not only compromising the integrity of women’s football but creating an atmosphere where many people feel frightened even to speak up about their concerns.
The FA has been under significant pressure to change its stance since last December, when it received a letter from more than 70 MPs and members of the House of Lords – including Lord Triesman – demanding urgent action to protect women from the injury risks of playing against biological males. The signatories urged the FA to “show leadership” and to abandon its position of allowing those born male to register to play in their “affirmed gender”.
Despite also being urged in March by then-Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer to adopt the “unambiguous position” of a ban, the FA has continued to permit players born male to compete in female-only events.
In a statement earlier this year, it said: “Our current transgender policy has been in place for 10 years, and it has helped to enable a very small population of transgender women to enjoy playing football safely in the grass-roots game. This is a complex and constantly evolving area, and our review remains ongoing as we monitor and support the practical application of our policy.”
World Athletics last year decided to prioritise sporting fairness over inclusivity by excluding those assigned male at birth from competing in female world ranking competitions.
The International Cricket Council also changed its policy last year so male-to-female players who have been through any form of male puberty will not be eligible to take part in the international women’s game regardless of any surgery or gender reassignment treatment they may have undertaken.
