Mick Hartley

In October we had the case of a girl footballer with suspected autism threatened with a ban by the FA for asking a man with a beard if he was a man. The point, of course, was that this man was pretending to be a woman, playing in a woman's football team, so the poor girl was naturally accused of transphobia. Like the emperor's new clothes, only she was prepared to speak up about what was real, while everyone else went along with the charade.

And here we go again. From the Telegraph:

A second teenage footballer has been handed a six-match ban for asking whether adult transgender opponents she was playing were men.

An 18-year-old, whom Telegraph Sport has been told has both ADHD and learning difficulties, was sanctioned by a National Serious Case Panel in a case with parallels to that for which a 17-year-old girl with suspected autism was handed a similar suspension.

The second teen was charged by her county FA over comments she made to a referee during a match in September, the same month she turned 18. It was alleged she said: “Ref, have you checked if all of their players are eligible to play? Look at their ’keeper and for example their number 10 is obviously a man,” or something similar.

She was banned for six matches, two of which were suspended, after accepting the charge brought under national Football Association rules that allow those born male to play in women’s matches. The teen was also forced to undergo an “online education course”, while her club were handed seven disciplinary points.

An investigation into her comments required her to provide a written statement, which Telegraph Sport has been told she needed assistance in composing. In it she said she had sought guidance from the referee due to her trans opponents’ “extremely aggressive” style of play. She also said she had not taken her ADHD medication on the day in question because “another medical condition” had prevented her from doing so.

The disciplinary proceedings were triggered by a complaint made by the opposition club, which included the claim that she had said to their non-trans players: “This is a man.” She has admitted trying to ask those players if their team-mates were biologically male after failing to get clarity from the ref, who, she wrote in her statement, had threatened to send her off if she continued to quiz him on the matter.

Speaking to Telegraph Sport on condition of anonymity, the teenager said of her ban: “It kind of made me hate football.”

Yes, it kind of made me hate football too. Well, the FA at least. 

She also said she feared she had been gagged from asking questions or raising concerns about playing against those born male. “If I say anything else, I get another six-game ban,” she said. “So I can’t even stand up for myself at this point.”