Trans football players condemn ‘ignorant’ FA ban

Trans football players have branded the Football Association’s (FA) upcoming ban on their participation in women’s football as “ignorant”.

Following last month’s UK Supreme Court ruling, when the UK’s top judges ruled that the protected characteristic of “sex”, under the terms of the 2010 Equality Act referred to “biological” women and not transgender women, organisations have begun aligning their policies with the ruling. 

Barclays Bank is set to ban trans women members of staff from toilets that align with their gender, while the FA has said it will implement an outright ban on trans players from 1 June – the first day of Pride month, no less.

The FA’s move follows the Scottish Football Association’s introduction of a similar ban. 

‘I play women’s football because I transitioned’

Speaking to PinkNews, trans Goal Diggers FC goalkeeper Paula Griffin described the FA’s plan as a knee-jerk reaction. 

“I’m still digesting what this means for me and the few other trans women who play football, but over the [past] few years I’ve found a community in this game, a community that has allowed me to grow as a person and a player,” she said.

“And you know what? That community hasn’t disappeared because of this ruling. It’s shown itself to be stronger and more supportive than ever.

‘We play for the love of the game’

“What do the bigots hope to gain?” she went on to ask. “That I’ll detransition because they’ve tried to take away the sport I love?

She continued: “I didn’t transition to play women’s sports, I play women’s football because I transitioned.

“When I joined Goal Diggers, they had produced a shirt marking 100 years since the FA effectively banned women’s football. On it are the words: ‘We play for the love of the game. We are determined to go on’. As the women of 1921 did, so we do in 2025.”

‘Rooted in ignorance’

Clara McKechnie, the vice-president of Gender Goals, Scotland’s first trans and non-binary football club, also condemned the decisions by governing bodies both north and south of the border, claiming the move goes against the associations’ own ethos of fairness, justice and respect.

“Their decision, consulted without input or consultation from the trans community, is rooted in ignorance and fear, and lacks any merit in biological reality. There are various studies that show trans women who have undergone hormone replacement therapy have had no significant advantage over cis women.” 

Gender Goals has written an open letter to the Scottish FA, urging them to reconsider the decision.

“As a club, we’re saddened and angered but we will not be legislated out of existence,” McKechnie, who describes themselves as a transsexual, went on to say. “Trans people exist, trans people belong in football.”

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