Flying Bats FC won a women's tournament in Australia with five transgender players (Image: FOOTBALL AUSTRALIA)
A row has erupted in Australia after a women's football tournament was won by a team containing five transgender players, one of which had been accused of breaking a rival's leg. Flying Bats FC won all of their games during the Beryl Ackroyd Cup in Sydney and claimed a $1,000 (£514) prize for lifting the trophy.
One of their matches ended in a 10-0 victory, according to The Telegraph, with a trans player scoring a double hat-trick. It is also said that organisers held a crisis meeting before Sunday's final, in which other competing teams were warned that forfeiting any games against the Bats would result in disciplinary action.
Teams were reportedly told that refusing to play against the Bats could be considered an 'act of discrimination' and worthy of punishment. Trans women are allowed to participate in female grassroots football competitions in Australia, but there was said to have been plenty of backlash from rival teams in the crisis meeting.
The report adds that one of the Bats' trans players was once accused of breaking the leg of an opposing player in two places. In response, the vast majority of the injured player's team-mates were said to have quit because they did not want to play against the Bats.
Trans players are allowed to compete in women's grassroots competitions in Australia (Image: GETTY)
Kirralie Smith of Binary Australia, a campaign group, has publicly accused the country’s sports leaders of cowardice. She posted on X: "Your misogynist policy that protects males in female sports is forcing girls to self-exclude. It is unfair and unsafe. You are cowards hiding behind bad laws that disadvantage females."
The Bats were founded in 1985 and describe themselves on their website as 'the biggest LGBTQIA+ women’s and non-binary football club in the world'. On Wednesday, they released a statement underlining their support for trans inclusion in grassroots football while emphasising the need to ensure 'safe, respectful and fair play'.
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"We are a club that values our cisgender & transgender players equally," read the statement. "We strongly support the Australian Human Rights Commission’s guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport.
"These guidelines, along with the Sex Discrimination Act, inform the gender inclusion policies at the community grassroots level at which we play. Trans women belong in the women’s competition because that is the gender with which they identify.
"Trans women have played with the club for at least 20 years at levels ranging from beginner to skilled, just like our cis women players. Our players are graded on ability and placed in the team that is most appropriate for their skill and experience level, and we look forward to a respectful, competitive season across our eight teams in 2024."
