FA ‘carefully reviewing’ transgender inclusion policy after Supreme Court ruling
The FA’s policy currently permits transgender women to play alongside those born female.
The Football Association says it is “carefully reviewing” its transgender inclusion policy following a UK Supreme Court ruling earlier this month.
The FA issued an update to its policy shortly prior to the ruling which continued to allow transgender women to play in women’s football with reduced testosterone levels, but added a formal process allowing the governing body to exercise ultimate discretion to refuse or remove eligibility to players on grounds of safety or fairness.
However, it has confirmed the policy is now being examined again.
An FA spokesperson said: “We are carefully reviewing our policy and taking legal advice.”
The Scottish Football Association is understood to have updated its policy so that only those born female can play in women and girls’ football from under-13s upwards next season.
The Supreme Court ruling issued on April 16 offered clarification on terms used in the Equality Act. It concluded that Section 195 of the Act, which allows the lawful exclusion of athletes based on sex from gender-affected sports, was “plainly predicated on biological sex”.
Former FA chairman Lord Triesman told The Telegraph at the time of the ruling: “The pitiful excuses of some sports bodies, and especially the FA, have been shown to be unlawful.
“Women’s sport, as in all else, is defined by biology facts. There is no room for alternative propositions and the bodies concerned must reform and comply with the law at once or certainly face constant legal challenges.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed it is also reviewing its policy. Trans women have been banned from the top two tiers of elite women’s cricket since the start of this year, but they are still permitted to compete in the women’s game up to and including tier three of the domestic game and throughout recreational cricket.
An ECB spokesperson said: “Our existing regulations for transgender participation in recreational cricket remain in place. These aim to ensure that cricket remains an inclusive sport, while including measures to manage disparities – irrespective of someone’s gender – and ensure the safety of all players. We are currently taking advice about any impact the Supreme Court ruling may have, and will also await updated guidance from Sport England.”
Since the ruling was handed down, the Ultimate Pool Group has updated its policy to ban trans women, having also received a report that pool was a gender-affected sport.
Snooker’s global governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, is also reviewing its policy.
