Trans women forbidden to participate in women’s football competitions in England – Liberation

The first consequences of the transphobic decision of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom were quick. « From June 1, 2025 », Transgender women will no longer be able to take part in women’s football competitions in England, the English Football Federation (FA) announced on Thursday May 1.

Until now, according to the rules of the federation, transgender women were authorized to practice provided they present a sufficiently low testosterone level. Which, in all, corresponded to around twenty people out of the 2.5 million licensees in the country.

“As a ruling set of national football, our role is to make football accessible to the greatest number, in compliance with the legislation and international football policy defined by UEFA and FIFA, wrote the Federation in a press release. Our current policy, which authorizes transgender women to participate in women’s football, was based on this principle and was based on legal advice from experts. This is a complex subject, and our position has always been that if an important change occurs in the legislation, science or the functioning of policy in amateur football, we re -examine it and modify it if necessary. The judgment of the Supreme Court of April 16 means that we will change our policy. Transgender women will no longer be able to play women’s football in England, and this policy will come into force on June 1, 2025. ”

A few days ago, the Scottish Football Federation had made a similar decision, also motivated by the implementation of this decision of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom which, on April 16, founded the legal definition of a woman on biological sex.

In an interview with specialized magazine Sofoot, Published this Thursday morningFae Fulconis, a player of the London club Hackney Women’s FC, in the sixth English division, was alarmed « Law and (of) political climate » in his country. “The distributed argument consists in saying that a trans woman is automatically stronger than a woman. People think that trans women come to steal the spaces of “Real” women, deplore the young woman. If we, trans women, were really a problem, we would not be 20 out of 2.5 million football practitioners in the United Kingdom. And we would all play in Women’s Super League. There is not a single trans woman beyond the third division! If we were really there to prick the places and win everything, why wouldn’t we all be in Chelsea? ”

« We understand that it will be difficult for people who simply want to practice the sport they like in the genre with which they identify, added the federation in its press release. We are in the process of contacting transgender women currently dismissed to explain these changes to them and how they can continue to practice this sport. ”

For Women Scotland, the group « Terf » (for « Trans-Exclusionary radical feminist », In French: radical feminists excluding the trans) at the origin of the trial which led to the decision of the Supreme Court, immediately welcomed the decision of the English Federation. The obsession of this organization to prohibit the access of trans women to women’s sports competitions is at the root of its fight against inclusion. « (These people) are only interested in female sport when it comes to attacking trans women », had moved a few days ago with Release Anaïs Perrin-Prévelle, president of the Féminist Association Outrans.