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Transgender women will be barred from playing in women’s soccer in England from June 1, the English Football Association (FA) announced on Thursday . “We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify, and we are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game,” the organizing body for soccer in Britain said in a statement. The FA clarified to CNN Sports that this ban will impact all levels of women’s soccer, from the professional game to the grassroots level.
CNN understands that there are around 20 transgender women who could be affected by this ruling, all playing in the amateur levels of the game. The decision comes after the UK’s Supreme Court ruled last month that the legal definition of “woman” excludes trans women in a case that is expected to impact accommodations for trans women in bathrooms, hospital wards, sports clubs and more. Britain’s highest court ruled unanimously that the definition of a woman in equality legislation refers to “a biological woman and biological sex,” sparking celebrations outside court among gender-critical campaigners but warnings it was a “worrying” development for transgender people.
Just days before the April 16 ruling from the UK’s Supreme Court, the FA had updated its policy on transgender women playing in women’s soccer to allow trans women who had kept their testosterone levels below 5.0 nanomoles per liter of blood for 12 months prior to a match and thereafter to continue to participate. In Thursday’s statement, the FA said that its previous policy, which allowed trans women to play in the women’s game, was based on the principle of making “football accessible to as many people as possible” and “supported by expert legal advice,” as well as falling in the laws outlined by UEFA and FIFA, the governing bodies for European and global soccer respectively.
CNN has reached out to FIFA, UEFA and LGBTQ activist groups Athlete Ally and Stonewall for comment. “This is a complex subject, and our position has always been that if there was a material change in law, science, or the operation of the policy in grassroots football then we would review it and change it if necessary,” the FA said. The FA’s announcement comes days after its Scottish counterpart did similar in banning transgender women from playing soccer from the start of next season.
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