Soccer ban sparks fears of widening trans exclusion in the UK

LONDON — It was not her best goal or most important soccer match, but when the ball hit the back of the net in Natalie Washington's debut on a women's team in 2017, she felt a sense of belonging that had been missing.

It was long in coming: Washington had struggled to fit in on a men's team and eventually stopped playing when she decided to transition to being a woman and go through gender-affirming surgery. When she joined a women's team, she quickly felt accepted.

Now, after the United Kingdom's highest court in April said that for anti-discrimination purposes the terms ''woman'' and ''man'' refer to biological sex, Washington's opportunity to play the sport she loves in the league she wants is in doubt.

The head of the U.K's Equality and Human Rights Commission followed the ruling a day later by saying the court had provided clarity and that transgender women would be excluded from women-only spaces such as toilets, single-sex hospital wards and sports teams.

The Football Association, the regulatory body for soccer in the U.K., followed up by banning transgender players from women's teams in England and Scotland, a ban that took effect at the start of June.

''It feels like things are being taken away from trans people on an almost daily basis," Washington said. ''It's another blow, another kick at a time when people are already hurting.''

Long a divisive issue

Beyond Britain, inclusion of trans players in sports has long been a divisive issue, with arguments primarily focused on whether it's fair to have athletes born as boys compete against girls and women. In the U.S., it has been particularly politicized, with most Republican-controlled states banning transgender athletes in girls' sports and President Donald Trump signing an executive order to prohibit participation of transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports.

The U.K. court said trans people were still protected from discrimination under British law, such as in employment, housing and education, but the ruling means access to certain single-sex facilities could be curtailed.

Trans rights groups condemned the decision, which is likely to have a profound effect for thousands. Out of some 66 million people in England, Scotland and Wales, about 116,000 identified as trans in the latest census count.

The feminist groups who led the legal challenge cheered the ruling and others, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, welcomed the clarity it brought.

''Everyone knows what sex is and you can't change it,'' said Susan Smith, co-director of For Women Scotland, which brought the case.

A difficult decision

Washington, who leads the group Football v Transphobia, was one of 28 transgender women registered with the Football Association to play amateur soccer. In order to play the women's game, they had to have testosterone levels reduced to the range of biologically born females.

After the ruling, the organization changed its rules, saying that although it had aimed to make soccer accessible to as many people as possible, it was always prepared to alter its policy if there were changes in the law or science.

''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,'' the FA said, adding that it would contact transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can remain involved.

Some clubs have responded by finding ways around the ban. Goal Diggers FC, a women and nonbinary inclusive soccer club based in London, has withdrawn from all FA-affiliated leagues.

On June 1, the day the ban took effect, Goal Diggers hosted an inclusive women's tournament in London, drawing more than 100 players in a show of solidarity.

''I'll always have a place here and I'll always be a trans woman,'' said Billie Sky, a 28-year-old trans player for Goal Diggers. ''No one can take that away from me.''

Other voices, other sports

Groups that have campaigned to keep trans athletes from girls' and women's teams, citing a matter of safety and fairness, welcomed the move by the FA.

''The FA had ample evidence of the harms to women and girls caused by its nonsensical policy of letting men who identify as women play in women's teams,'' said Fiona McAnena of Sex Matters.

Groups that oversee cricket and netball, an offshoot of basketball that is played mainly by women, also limited women's competition to those who were assigned at birth as females.

The England and Wales Cricket Board said transgender women and girls could continue playing in open and mixed cricket. England Netball said it would allow anyone to play in a new mixed category beginning in September.

How the ruling came about

The legal case involved a 2018 Scottish law requiring at least half of the seats on public boards to be held by women. Trans women with certificates recognizing their gender were to be included in meeting the quota.

The court said that using the certificates to identify someone's gender clashes with the definitions of man and woman. Under the ruling, a transgender person could not claim they had been discriminated against if barred from a single-sex space.

Alexander Maine, a senior lecturer at The City Law School specializing in gender, sexuality and law, said the ruling clouds the value of a document sanctioned by the U.K. Gender Recognition Act that allows them to later update their birth certificate reflecting their acquired gender.

''There may be a challenge at the European Court of Human Rights brought by trans individuals who say that there is a problem where they may be two sexes at once," Maine said.

Someone could hold ''a gender recognition certificate stating that they are their acquired gender, whereas under the U.K. Equality Act, they are still recognized in their birth gender,'' he said.

Washington and many others say they worry the ruling may lead to more hatred aimed at trans people.

''For the first time in a long time, I felt scared about how people are going to react to me in public,'' Washington said. ''I don't feel anymore that I can guarantee I have support to turn to from authorities.''

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Brian Melley in London contributed to this report.