By Olaitan Ibrahim
Transgender women have been banned from playing women’s football in England after the Football Association changed their policy in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling in April.
The ban will be implemented from the first day of June.
Transgender women are currently allowed to play women’s football if they complete a form and send it to the FA as long as the eligibility criteria are met. But the FA have decided to reassess their policy after the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. The FA have called the matter a “complex subject” and have insisted they are contacting registered transgender women to help them “stay involved in the game”.
Explaining the decision in a statement, the FA said: “As the governing body of the national sport, our role is to make football accessible to as many people as possible, operating within the law and international football policy defined by UEFA and FIFA.
“Our current policy, which allows transgender women to participate in the women’s game, was based on this principle and supported by expert legal advice.”