UK Court Bans Trans Women From Women's Football Teams, Sparks Debate

Last Updated:July 01, 2025, 16:08 IST

Natalie Washington, a trans footballer, faces uncertainty after a UK court ruled "woman" and "man" refer to biological sex, banning trans players in women's teams.

Transgender footballer Natalie Washington. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

When Natalie Washington scored during her debut on a women’s football team in 2017, it wasn’t her finest goal or the most critical match of her career, but it brought her a profound sense of belonging that she had long sought.

Her journey to that moment was fraught with challenges: Washington had a difficult time fitting in with a men’s team and eventually quit playing altogether when she decided to transition to being a woman and undergo gender-affirming surgery. When she joined a women’s team, she immediately felt accepted.

However, her chance to play in her preferred league is now uncertain. In April, the United Kingdom’s highest court ruled that, for anti-discrimination purposes, the terms “woman" and “man" refer to biological sex. This decision led the head of the U.K.’s Equality and Human Rights Commission to state that transgender women would be excluded from women-only spaces like toilets, single-sex hospital wards, and sports teams.

Following the ruling, the Football Association, the regulatory body for football in the U.K., banned transgender players from women’s teams in England and Scotland, effective from the beginning 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."

A highly contentious issue, the inclusion of trans players in sports has long sparked debate, primarily focusing on whether it’s fair for athletes born as boys to compete against girls and women. In the U.S., the issue has become particularly politicised, with most Republican-controlled states banning transgender athletes in girls’ sports and President Donald Trump signing an executive order to prohibit their participation.

The U.K. court maintained that trans people are still protected from discrimination in areas like employment, housing, and education, but the ruling means access to certain single-sex facilities could be limited. Trans rights groups condemned the decision, which is expected to have significant repercussions for thousands. Out of approximately 66 million people in England, Scotland, and Wales, about 116,000 identified as trans in the latest census.

What Has Been The Reaction?

Feminist groups who led the legal challenge praised 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, the group that brought the case.

Washington, who leads the group Football v Transphobia, was one of 28 transgender women registered with the Football Association to play amateur football. To play in the women’s league, they had to maintain testosterone levels within the range of biologically born females.

After the ruling, the organisation revised its rules, stating that while it aimed to make football accessible to as many people as possible, it was prepared to alter its policy in response to changes in 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 sought ways around the ban. Goal Diggers FC, a women and nonbinary inclusive football club based in London, withdrew 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 over 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."

Groups campaigning to keep trans athletes from girls’ and women’s teams, citing safety and fairness, welcomed the FA’s decision. “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.

Sports organisations overseeing cricket and netball have also limited women’s competition to those assigned female at birth. The England and Wales Cricket Board stated that transgender women and girls could continue playing in open and mixed cricket. England Netball said it would introduce a new mixed category starting in September.

The legal case stemmed from a 2018 Scottish law requiring at least half of the seats on public boards to be occupied by women, including trans women with gender recognition certificates. The court ruled that using these certificates to define gender conflicted with the definitions of man and woman. As a result, a transgender person could not claim discrimination if barred from a single-sex space.

Alexander Maine, a senior lecturer at The City Law School specialising in gender, sexuality, and law, noted that the ruling complicates the value of documents under the U.K. Gender Recognition Act, which allows people to update their birth certificates to reflect their acquired gender.

“There may be a challenge at the European Court of Human Rights brought by trans individuals who say 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 recognised in their birth gender."

Washington and many others worry that the ruling may lead to increased hostility towards 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."

With AP Inputs

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