- A transgender row has broken out during a girls’ football tournament
- The Flying Bats dominated the Beryl Ackroyd Cup
- One trans player reportedly scored six goals in a 10-0 win
A row has erupted after a girls’ football team made up of five transgender players won the pre-season Beryl Ackroyd Cup tournament in Sydney, Australia.
Flying Bats FC won every match they played over the course of the four-week competition, winning the grand final 4-0 at Macquarie Park on Sunday to take home the $1000 jackpot.
In some matches the winning margins were huge, with one trans player scoring six goals in a 10-0 win.
Furious parents have withdrawn their daughters from games over safety concerns. They told News Corp that the women were unaware they had signed up to compete against biological males.
Club officials have also contacted Football NSW to express their concerns, with some insisting the Flying Bats should play in the mixed competition, which also includes men.
A transgender row has broken out at a girls’ soccer tournament in Sydney, Australia
“Our girls are here to play for fun and expect to play in the women’s league. They have not registered for a mixed competition,” a senior club official told the club Daily telegram.
“There is no transparency from Football NSW, the girls don’t know if they are going to play biological males or not.
‘Some parents were so concerned that they wouldn’t let their daughters play… It was so disheartening for them to see the huge difference in skills – they’re killing it.’
On the Flying Bats official website, they claim they are ‘the largest LGBTQIA+ women’s and non-binary football club in the world’.
John Ruddick, a Libertarian Party MP who has campaigned on the issue of preserving biological sex rights, has also stormed the scenes in the North West Sydney League.
“It’s not just a matter of fair sportsmanship,” Mr Ruddick said. “It’s also a matter of physical safety for female players who were born female.”
Binary Australia spokeswoman Kirralie Smith said: “North West Sydney Football and Football NSW continue to put girls at risk and create an unfair playing field,” Ms Smith said. “Many teams are stressed about the situation.”
The Flying Bats won the Beryl Ackroyd Cup with ease, much to the ire of parents and coaches
She also claimed some teams were told not to complain or refuse to play or they would be fined and referred to Anti-DiscriminationNSW.
A spokesperson for Football NSW said the organization is “proud to be at the forefront of developing inclusive policies for sport in Australia and operates within the existing legal framework, including anti-discrimination legislation.”
‘Football NSW continues to align with Football Australia’s endorsement of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s ‘Guidelines for the Inclusion of Transgender and Gender Diverse People in Sport’, which will allow community players to participate in football based on their gender they identify themselves.’