The chief executive of the Football Association, Mark Bullingham, has claimed the sporting body’s decision to ban trans women from playing women’s football is “not an ideological judgement”.
Last week, both the FA – the football governing body for England, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man – and Scottish FA announced trans women would be barred from playing female football following the UK Supreme Court’s ruling on the legal definition of a woman.
Justices for the UK highest court published their decision on 16 April that the protected characteristic of ‘sex’ in the 2010 Equality Act solely refers to ‘biological’ women and excludes trans women.
The ruling is expected to have wide-ranging impacts for the trans community, organisations, public bodies and services, and has already seen the England and Wales Cricket Board announce its own ban on trans participation whereby “only those whose biological sex is female will be eligible to play in women’s cricket and girls’ cricket matches”.
Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, the FA previously updated its trans inclusion policy and allowed trans women to play in women’s football if their testosterone levels were decreased. However, following the legal judgement, it announced it would implement an outright ban on trans players from 1 June – the first day of Pride Month.
From next season, the Scottish FA will also bring in a policy whereby only women assigned female at birth will be able to play in women’s football over the age of 13.
In response, dozens of grassroots football clubs publicly condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling and the FA’s decision, labelling the decision on the part of the footballing body “shameful” and having left players and allies “disappointed and deeply disturbed”.
One club – East London-based club Goal Diggers FC (GDFC) – wrote an open letter to FA boss Bullingham, demanding the decision be reversed and saying the FA and the chance to “show leadership, empathy and humanity” but instead issued “what we see is a pitiful and weak response to the mounting pressure”.
“In a time when women’s football needed your leadership, allyship and resolve, you have once again fallen short,” the letter read.
On Monday (5 May), members of GDFC walked 12 miles from club’s training pitches at Haggerston to Wembley Stadium to deliver the damning letter to the FA.
In reply to the club’s concerns, Bullingham said the decision to stop trans women playing was “not an ideological judgment, but a difficult decision” and was based on legal advice the FA received that a “change in policy was necessary”.
In the response letter, quoted by The Guardian, Bullingham went on to say he would “like to reassure you that we are committed to working with every registered transgender player in our network to support them in staying involved in football and we will continue to have those conversations”.
Goal Diggers player Becky Taylor-Gill said the FA’s actions need to reflect its motto.
“Their motto is football for all. Put your money where your mouth is,” Taylor-Gill stated. “Put your lawyers in the situation where they can fight for football to be for all.”
As per the Goal Diggers Just Giving page the walk was to “raise money for our trans and gender non-conforming inclusive team to keep football financially accessible” and all funds be split 50/50 with Not A Phase.
It has currently raised over £10,000 ($13,390).
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