English football bosses ban men from women’s game

The national governing body has said the ban is the result of a UK Supreme Court ruling

Transgender athletes will no longer be allowed to compete in women’s football in England, according to the country’s Football Association (FA). The policy change was prompted by a UK Supreme Court ruling.

The participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports has been a hot topic in recent years. Some argue that this undermines fair competition, while others believe trans athletes should be included based on gender identity rather than their ‘assigned sex’ at birth.

“Transgender women will no longer be able to play in women’s football in England, and this policy will be implemented from 1 June 2025,” the FA said in a statement released on Thursday, citing last month’s court ruling.

On April 15, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the term ‘woman’ refers to biological sex, not gender identity, meaning that transgender individuals who were born male are not legally considered women for the purposes of single-sex protections. The ruling comes after the ‘For Women Scotland’ campaign group challenged a Scottish law aimed at increasing the number of women on public boards, which included transgender women with legal recognition as female.

Fewer than 30 transgender women are registered among millions of amateur players, with none currently playing in the professional game across the Home Nations, the BBC reported on Thursday, citing the FA.

The ban comes a month after the association ruled that transgender women could continue to play in the women’s game as long as they keep their testosterone levels below 5 n/mol for at least 12 months.

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The Scottish Football Association has announced the same policy, saying it is banning transgender women from women’s football.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting found themselves at the center of controversy regarding gender verification in sports. The International Olympic Committee defended their participation, and both athletes won gold medals despite public outcry.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke out, expressing support for Italian boxer Angela Carini, who was defeated by Khelif in a 46-second bout.

Commenting on Khelif’s victory, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that allowing biological male athletes to compete against females could lead to unintended consequences. In November last year, then-US President-elect Donald Trump also voiced his opposition to the committee’s decision to allow Khelif to compete against women.