Scotland football to ban transgender women in women’s football a week after UK supreme court ruling on the same.
Scotland Football Association to ban transgender women from playing in women’s football.
Beginning with the upcoming season, women’s competitive football—which includes games involving players ages 13 and up—will only be open to biological women.
Depending on their testosterone levels, transgender women may compete in Scotland under their affirmed gender identification under the current regulations. At an SFA board meeting last Thursday, it was decided to amend that policy. The organisation is currently working through the necessary measures, including governance and legal compliance. Transgender women football players are not registered in Scotland’s women’s league, and the SFA is reportedly creating new strategies to boost LGBTQ+ involvement.
A week after the UK Supreme Court decided that the term “woman” in the Equality Act only refers to a biological woman, the amendment was made. The Supreme Court’s ruling in reaction to the Scottish government’s decision to expand the definition of “woman” to include trans women is likely to make the SFA’s decision contentious. This week, John Swinney, the first minister of Scotland, advised athletic organisations to hold off on reviewing their inclusion policy until they receive direction from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision this month, the English FA said that trans women would still be permitted to participate in women’s sports as long as they demonstrated low testosterone levels for a full year. Twenty registered transgender players in England are reportedly impacted by this ruling, and the FA retains the power to consult a transgender and nonbinary eligibility committee if eligibility questions arise.
An FA spokeswoman said on Tuesday: “We are carefully reviewing our policy and taking legal advice.”