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A teenager with suspected autism has urged Lancashire Football Association (FA) to apologise after she was ‘unfairly’ banned for asking a bearded opponent if he was a man.
Cerys Vaughan, who is now 18 years old, was accused of ‘transphobia’ last year for questioning an opponent who was playing for pro-trans team Manchester Laces. An FA appeal board overturned the ruling in February, and the case has been dropped after the claimant withdrew.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of ‘woman’ last month, the English FA announced that it will ban men who identify as female from women’s competitions.
‘Unfair’
According to the BBC, the FA appeal board was “concerned about fundamental aspects of this case”.
The board found that Cerys had been “prevented” from giving her account of the incident, and that “there appears to have been no consideration of her explanation”.
It concluded that since “Cerys did not receive a fair hearing”, this was “sufficient for us to allow the appeal and quash the commission’s decision”.
An FA spokesperson stated: “We can confirm that this disciplinary case has now been closed, as the complainant has chosen to withdraw from the process due to personal reasons. All relevant parties have been informed of this outcome and no further action will be taken.”
‘Cowardly’
Cerys, who was informed only minutes before the Supreme Court’s landmark decision, called the FA “cowards” for waiting for the court’s decision to change their rules “if they knew it was wrong the whole time”.
In an interview with BBC Sport, she explained: “I’d like the FA to apologise for the way they treated me in this whole case. In the past few days, they basically admitted that I was right in what I did. But I haven’t received an apology for the punishment or for the way they treated me during the hearing.”
She emphasised that eligibility criteria based on reduced testosterone levels, which was the FA’s previous policy, can never make the women’s game fair.
“I think with the height advantage, the difference in bone density, that’s there from the beginning. And I think that’s unfair. I’m at a greater risk of injury. And if they’ve gone through male puberty they’ll always have the biological advantage.”
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