Transgender women will no longer be able to play in women's football in England from 1 June, the Football Association has announced.
English football's governing body amended its rules last month, applying stricter eligibility criteria for transgender women to continue playing in women's football.
Following the UK Supreme Court's ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, the FA has scrapped that policy and banned transgender women from participating in women's football.
Stupid decision, but made by the right organisation.
I'm my view, each sport should make its own decisions and rulings on this issue, as there are so many differences between sports. It shouldn't be decided by government, imposing a decision on all sports, from above.
So it's to be applauded that the FA has been allowed to make its own decision and timing; but in my view the decision is worrying, wrong, harmful and fraught with unintended consequences.
It must be the right logical decision, imo. Any sport that depends upon physical attributes should be single sex. End of.
"End of"?
Isn't there a little bit more to it than that? For example, now, for the first time ever, a woman may be required to "prove" that she's a biological woman in order to play. What's the process for that? How does it get judged? Who judges it? When? How?
And, does the ruling allow - or even require - that transmen who play football, to be allowed to play women's football? That is, a biological woman, who has undergone gender reassignment, taken male hormone medication, become significantly more muscular and grown a beard, then that person is free to play women's football? Is that what everyone wants?
"End of"? Wishful thinking, I imagine.
I'm not going to dwell long on this, but birth certificate perhaps, or is it an infringement of human liberties to ask to see it?
In any event, I don't believe the practicalities involved in policing a policy should prevent it coming into force. Plenty of folk break the law of the land and evade punishment. Should we therefore change the laws? The tail shouldn't wag the dog.
0.1% of the population are trans men, or so I read, so the bearded lady scenario you ask our opinion on applies only to the number of that tiny proportion that want to play women's football. It could happen, but so could many other unlikely scenarios that don't have contingencies in place to cover.
You ask if I'd like to see it? The answers no, but I'm not really expecting to, other than in very rare and isolated incidents. It's not 'end of' I agree, but it's the end of my contribution on this, and it's just my opinion.
Is there any chance this particular discussion could move to its own thread? As the BBC article says, the number of trans footballers at any level in the professional game in the UK is precisely zero, and there are only a handful registered as amateurs. I have my own views on this issue, particularly in relation to recreational sport and encouraging participation, but Charlton's women's team is a full-time professional outfit and this issue has nothing to do with us whatsoever.
Comments
In any event, I don't believe the practicalities involved in policing a policy should prevent it coming into force. Plenty of folk break the law of the land and evade punishment. Should we therefore change the laws? The tail shouldn't wag the dog.
0.1% of the population are trans men, or so I read, so the bearded lady scenario you ask our opinion on applies only to the number of that tiny proportion that want to play women's football. It could happen, but so could many other unlikely scenarios that don't have contingencies in place to cover.
You ask if I'd like to see it? The answers no, but I'm not really expecting to, other than in very rare and isolated incidents. It's not 'end of' I agree, but it's the end of my contribution on this, and it's just my opinion.
Please and thank you 🙏🏻