Women’s football match is postponed after outrage over team signing a 34-year-old transgender goalkeeper, who was chosen by the league’s first ever trans manager

Sutton United’s away match at Ebbsfleet in the London and South East Regional Women’s League was postponed on Sunday due to controversy surrounding a transgender goalkeeper.

The match, which was scheduled to kick off at 2pm, was called off after Sutton sent an email to the opposition at 11.12am stating they could not field a team.

Sunday’s postponement came a week after Sutton manager Lucy Clark – the first transgender manager in the top five tiers of women’s football in England – signed 34-year-old transgender goalkeeper Blair Hamilton.

Hamilton, who previously played for the University of Aberdeen men’s football team while in transition before being encouraged to join the women’s team, made her debut for Sutton on 25 August in a 6-0 win over Haywards Heath Town.

However, the club only announced her arrival after that match.

Hamilton’s arrival at the club was criticised by former Team GB swimmer Sharron Davies

Since Sutton released a short statement confirming her arrival, Hamilton and the club have received mixed reactions.

The statement read: ‘We are delighted to welcome Blair Hamilton to Sutton United. Blair made her debut and kept a clean sheet in a 6-0 win. Blair previously played for Hastings United, Saltdean and also represented English universities.’

Sharron Davies, a former Team GB swimmer and 1980 Olympic silver medallist, has previously made it clear that she opposes transgender people competing against cisgender people under the banner of women’s sport.

Davies called Sutton’s signing of Hamilton “disgraceful”.

She also claimed that she had received a letter from football fans expressing their concerns.

The letter apparently read: ‘We wish to remain anonymous due to the threats we will certainly receive. The women’s team has hired transgenders [former] Referee Lucy Clark has no experience in women’s football.

Hamilton is pictured with teammates at her former club Saltdean Women, from last season

Sutton were due to play a match in the London & South East Regional Women’s League on Sunday, but it was cancelled less than three hours before the scheduled kick-off time

‘Now Clark Hamilton, a 6ft 34 year old trans goalkeeper, has been signed and the female goalkeeper has been sacked. The club must be held accountable for pushing women out of women’s football. It’s disgusting.’

Although not yet confirmed, it is believed Sunday’s match was postponed after some of Hamilton’s teammates refused to play in protest at her arrival.

The club announced the postponement of the match with a short post on X (formerly Twitter). It simply read: ‘Today’s match against @EbbsfleetWomen has been postponed.’

One of the comments read: ‘Well done ladies for standing your ground.’

Sutton Women is led by former referee Lucy Clark, who is also transgender

Speaking to the BBC in 2019, Hamilton said: ‘I knew I was transgender from the age of four. I grew up on the west coast of Scotland and tried to hide it a bit.

‘The University of Aberdeen women’s football team took me under their wing and said, “Why don’t you come and join us?” That’s something I never thought possible.’

At the time of her BBC interview, Hamilton had been on hormone therapy for three years. “They need to look at the science, what it actually does to your body,” she added.

“It takes away your muscle mass, your explosiveness. Your ratio of type 1 to type 2 fast-twitch fibers changes – your body changes completely. I don’t think they realize how much change hormone therapy makes.

“There is absolutely no advantage on the field.”