After Scottish FA, England bans trans players from women's competitive football

London, May 1 (IANS) The Football Association (FA) has announced that transgender women will no longer be able to play in women’s football in England from June 1. The decision follows the ruling from the Supreme Court that a woman is defined by biological sex under equality law.

The decision came a month after the FA said transgender women could continue to participate in women's football provided they met certain criteria. The criteria in the FA's trans policy included meeting reduced testosterone levels and "match observation" to evaluate if the player "presents a risk" to the safety of other players and fair competition.

However, following the UK Supreme Court's ruling on April 16, which stated that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, the FA has overturned its previous policy and announced that only those born biologically female will be allowed to play.

"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.

"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 Supreme Court’s ruling on April 16 means that we will be changing our policy. Transgender women will no longer be able to play in women’s football in England, and this policy will be implemented from June 1, 2025," the statement from the FA read.

This decision will impact around 20 transgender women registered among the millions of amateur players.

"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 FA said.

The announcement from the FA came just a day after the Scottish FA board had determined that from the start of season 2025/26, only biological females will be permitted to play in competitive girls and women's football, which is governed by the Scottish FA.

Notably, there are no trans players registered with the Scottish FA.

--IANS

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