Mick Hartley

This is Pride now: all T for trans, and to hell with women's sport.

Ulster Rugby will not be allowed to march in Belfast's Pride parade because of the ban on transgender women playing in female contact rugby games.

The organisers of the Pride parade said any group which was "engaging in trans exclusionary practices" would not be permitted to participate in the march….

The Belfast Pride Festival celebrates and campaigns for LGBTQIA+ rights and has grown in popularity over the past five decades.

The theme of this year's festival is "stand by your trans".

Ulster Rugby was one of many organisations which applied to take in the annual Pride parade through the city on 29 July.

Following its exclusion, Belfast's Pride organisers described their festival as "unapologetically trans inclusive".

"Trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people have helped lead and shape not only the Pride movement, but the wider LGBTQIA+ civil rights movement, and are an integral part of our community and wider society," they added.

"We believe trans, non-binary and gender- diverse people should be supported, accepted and celebrated within families, communities and across wider society."

Ulster Rugby took part in the parade in 2022.