North West Sydney football club urgent transgender player meeting

Urgent meetings have been held in a Sydney football association over club and player concerns over female safety and fairness playing against transgender players.

NSW soccer officials have held an emergency meeting about transgender players in female competitions amid allegations that clubs who didn’t want to play against biological men were “threatened” with fines and possible discrimination action.

The meeting of the North West Sydney Football Association included club presidents, Football NSW chief executive John Tsatsimas and the president of the LGBTQIA team Flying Bats, Jenifer Peden, following concerns from clubs about the eligibility of players.

The meeting heard from an official from a team from Sydney’s inner west who said one of his female players had her leg broken in two places after a “clumsy” tackle by a tall transgender player two years ago.

He said 24 women have now left his small club as a result.

“She’s no longer playing football,” he said.

“Accidents happen, I know. But this could have been avoided. As my 5’6 player – who didn’t even weigh 60kg – against a 6’2 player who was 80-90kg.

The Flying Bats FC Women's team, a female soccer team with five transgender female players has won the pre-season women's football competition, the Beryl Ackroyd Cup, scoring 4-nil in the finals on Sunday March 24.

“I’ve lost my two women’s teams as a direct result.”

It comes after the Flying Bats, an inner-west team which includes at least five transgender women, won the pre-season Beryl Ackroyd Cup in northwest Sydney, going through undefeated after “annihilating” their opposition.

North West Sydney Football clubs were told Football NSW has a gender diversity policy which restricts trans women players based on testosterone, but that only applies to high level teams not grassroots players.

It is understood several clubs were considering pulling out of matches with transgender players, but were warned at the meeting they would face “serious fines”, disciplinary action and “it could be seen as an act of discrimination”.

Binary Australia spokeswoman Kirralie Smith said attendees were warned about co-ordinating any forfeits of games and questions about safety were ignored.

Officials from North West Sydney Football told the meeting: “Some people are talking about not wanting to play certain games or forfeit certain games.

“So, if you forfeit two games in a row … in a season, you’ll be transferred to the GPT (General Purpose Tribunal).

“There’s also been discussion around the view that if there was a concerted effort by teams to forfeit games against a particular opposition … that could be seen as an act of discrimination.”

Football NSW said it “categorically denies threatening to impose sanctions on any teams that withdraw from matches against teams with transgender players”.

Ms Peden said “trans women belong in the women’s competition because that is the gender with which they identify”.

“We strongly support the Australian Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC) guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport.”

Senator Claire Chandler, who campaigns for women’s rights, said it was a “disgrace” that “girls and women are being treated like this while Football NSW hides behind anti-discrimination law and the shoddy AHRC Guidelines to justify it”.

North West Sydney Football and NSW Football have been contacted for comment.

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