Women’s team forces out male opponent by refusing to play
A British women’s soccer team has forced a male posing as a woman in an opposing team to quit after refusing to play a match against him.
Mr. Needham, who declared himself female and changed his first name to Francesca, was accepted as a player on the Rossington Main Ladies soccer team, which belongs to the Sheffield and Hallamshire Women and Girls League.
But Mexborough Athletic, also a team in the league, is refusing to play Rossington while Needham remains a player. The decision came last weekend after one of Mexborough’s players was seriously injured trying to block a shot from Needham, which broke her knee. Two matches have since been canceled due to Mexborough Athletic’s boycott of Needham.
“She's quite a big strong player,” said the team’s manager. “People have refused to play because they are worried about the safety of the players. “My players were backing out of challenges as psychologically it's quite a big thing, when you are playing against a biological man it's quite scary. They were terrified.”
Needham has decided to “step down from playing” soccer “for the sake of [his] team,” reports the Daily Mail. He is, however, threatening to sue both the Sheffield and Hallamshire Women and Girls League and the Football Association (FA).
"As some of you may have heard, Rossington Main Ladies FC has faced challenges from teams unwilling to play against us while I am on the field,“ wrote Needham on Facebook.
"This unfortunate circumstance has prompted me to investigate pursuing a case of discrimination, as I believe it represents a breach of the code of conduct regarding diversity and inclusion, as well as safeguarding of adults in football established by both the Football Association and the Sheffield and Hallamshire Women and Girls League."
The FA’s “transgender” policy allows men who claim to be women to apply for spots on women’s teams, and the FA says it considers such requests on a case-by-case basis. But it seems the FA was caught by surprise since no team has taken such a stand before.
"This issue is complex and constantly evolving, and like many other national governing bodies in sport, we are currently reviewing our transgender policy for English football to ensure it is inclusive, fair and safe for all," an FA spokesperson told BBC Sport.
The women of Rossington Main have come out in strong support of Needham and have created a fundraiser to help him in his legal attack.
“So bloody saddening that it has come to this!” commented supporter Sarah Nicholson. “Wishing you all the best Fran xx.”
“Hope everything gets sorted soon it’s a very delicate situation but hopefully you will pave the way forward so no one else has to go through what you have xxx,” added Julie Large.
But some women support the move by Mexborough Athletic.
“Footballers are separated by sex for very good reasons,” said Fiona McAnena at Fair Play For Women, a nonprofit group dedicated to preserving women’s sports. “If you put one male on the pitch they are faster, they are stronger. It is patently unfair and in a contact sport like football it's unsafe. “These women didn't choose mixed football, they chose women's football. It's not because this player is trans, it is because they are male.”
