Two Opposing Views On Football's Transgender Ban

The English Football Association announced connected Thursday that transgender women will nary longer beryllium capable to play successful women's shot successful England from 1 June.

Following nan UK Supreme Court's ruling connected 15 April that nan ineligible meaning of a female is based connected biologic sex, nan FA now says only those calved biologically female will beryllium permitted to play successful women's football.

The Scottish FA has besides announced it is banning transgender women, while sources person told BBC Sport that nan England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is besides expected to prohibition transgender women from nan women's game.

BBC Sport said to Natalie Washington, run lead for Football v Transphobia, and erstwhile swimmer and campaigner Sharron Davies to get their views connected nan ban.

Washington played men's Sunday League shot earlier joining a women's squad successful 2017, external. She was 1 of 28 trans women registered to play amateur shot successful England.

She told BBC Sport: "It is simply a shock.

"This intends for maine personally, and for galore group playing football, that we are nary longer capable to do this worldly that we were capable to do past week and that we've been capable to do for decades.

"I stopped playing successful nan men's crippled 10-12 years ago, I didn't consciousness it was a safe spot to modulation and I consciousness for illustration i'm not really capable to compete successful that anymore.

"The effect that hormones person had intends erstwhile I do play an occasional five-a-side kickabout pinch men, I don't consciousness for illustration I tin compete pinch men my benignant of property and pinch akin beingness characteristics.

"The reality is location are not capable transgender group successful nine for america to tally our ain sports, tally our ain spaces - location conscionable aren't nan numbers to make that viable.

"This is simply a batch of attraction connected a very mini number of group who aren't causing a problem, and are conscionable going astir their lives.

"It is simply a de facto prohibition for transgender women from shot much generally, realistically, peculiarly group who person been playing successful women's shot for decades.

"It's going to beryllium very mentally challenging and really perchance physically vulnerable for those group to spell backmost and play successful nan men's crippled - if they ever moreover did play successful nan men's game.

"So really this is pushing those group retired of shot altogether."

BBC Sport has seen a missive sent by nan FA to transgender players facing an contiguous ban.

As good arsenic nan connection of "free, afloat confidential online talking therapy" nan FA said it hopes to person mixed gender shot disposable from nan 2026-27 play and moreover suggested players move into different areas of nan game.

Davies, 62, won a metallic badge astatine nan Moscow Olympics successful 1980 and has long argued against nan inclusion of trans women successful women's sport.

She told BBC Sport: "I'm overjoyed that women are getting their athletics backmost astatine last, hopefully cricket will follow.

"The subject is still nan same. Males footwear 50% harder than females, they're taller, they person bigger hands and feet, and they're much dynamic, peculiarly successful goal.

"I've had heart-broken parents talking astir their children, their young girls who are self-harming because they've had a season-ending injury. Or autistic daughters who've had six-match bans because they've recognised that location is simply a antheral connected nan opposition.

"A batch of group are owed an apology.

"It affects half nan organization who are really female. It affects each young girls and each women who play football, peculiarly astatine grassroots and pathways and inferior competition, truthful this was conscionable astir nan integrity of athletics and arsenic a biologic female you are entitled to that integrity conscionable nan aforesaid arsenic a biologic male.

"Everyone deserves to do athletics and nan FA must find a measurement to beryllium inclusive for everybody."