Jackson Irvine, the captain of the Australia men’s national team and German side St Pauli, says the lack of public support from men’s football towards transgender women being banned from women’s football in the United Kingdom is “disappointing”.
Earlier this month, the Football Association (FA) announced a ban on transgender women playing women’s football from June 1.
The decision followed the Supreme Court ruling on April 16, when the UK’s highest court decided that the legal definition of a woman would be based on biological sex. The FA subsequently amended its inclusion policy to exclude all transgender women from women’s football, falling in line with other major sports in the UK.
“I didn’t feel that there was much of a public display of support or allyship across the men’s game, that was disappointing,” Irvine told the Sky Sports podcast Real Talk.
“We still have a long way to go in football, and especially men’s football, to speak out on any social issues and especially when it comes to LGBTQI+ rights, where maybe players don’t feel confident or supported to make statements.”
Goal Diggers FC, a trans-inclusive grassroots team established in 2015, organised a march towards Wembley to protest the decision, which was attended by more than 100 people.
The Hackney-based club, which welcomes non-binary and transgender players, wrote an open letter to the FA with more than 1,600 supporting signatures, within it calling the Supreme Court’s decision a “stain on the country’s reputation”.
Around 20 transgender players are believed to be involved at the grassroots level of the game and are thought to be affected by the new policy. There are almost 5.5million women and girls are registered to play football in England.
“The small number of trans women who play football in the UK just emphasises how heavy-handed that decision was,” Irvine added. “Most footballers would welcome any team-mate into their environment regardless of what they identify as.
“I think the game has taken strides for and generationally we are a more accepting and open space. I would like to see more people stand up whenever rights are taken away from our fellow footballers.
“We want to make sure everyone who plays our game has a safe and inclusive space to play the game we all love.”
Irvine, 32, has spent much of his career in the UK, playing for Celtic, Kilmarnock, Ross County and Hibernian in Scotland, and Burton Albion and Hull City in England. He has scored 14 goals in 78 appearances for Australia.
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