Latest news with #CerysVaughan
The Sun
10-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Female footballer, 18, who was banned by FA for trans comment wants body to apologise after case folded
A TEENAGE girl footballer banned for asking a bearded transgender opponent 'Are you a man?' wants the FA to apologise after the case folded. Cerys Vaughan, 18, raised safety and fairness concerns during a friendly. Anti-discrimination watchdog Kick It Out complained and Cerys, then 17, was charged with breaching FA rules. Vaughan, of Leigh Genesis FC in Gtr Manchester, was banned for six matches, with four suspended for a year. She appealed against the decision and an FA board ruled the hearing 'unfair' and dismissed the case. It came after the FA said transgender players would be barred from June 1 following a Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. Cerys said: 'I'd like the FA to apologise for the way they treated me. "It was stressful and in the end pointless. 'If the new ruling was in place when I asked the original question I'd never have been punished.' The FA said it dropped the case after the complainant withdrew for personal reasons.
The Independent
10-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Footballer who was banned after questioning transgender player's inclusion wants apology from FA
A teenage amateur footballer who was banned by the Football Association over comments she made to a transgender opponent has called on the sports body to apologise. Cerys Vaughan, who was 17 when the FA sanctioned her for improper conduct last year, said the case has impacted her life. Ms Vaughan said she asked the rival player if they were a man during a friendly match during a women's game in Lancashire. When she realised the player was a transgender woman, she says she spoke to the referee about the player's inclusion in the game. She said she raised concerns about fairness and safety, and asked whether the player was allowed to play in the match. Ms Vaughan said this was overheard by the other team's captain who said this wasn't an appropriate question, and told her to 'keep my transphobia off the pitch'. She added: 'I didn't understand why she was saying that'. She was later charged with a breach of FA rules and handed a six-match ban, four of which were suspended, the BBC reported. The broadcaster reported that the original ruling about Ms Vaughan's conduct has now been quashed and the FA appeal board had ordered a new process to take place. However, the FA said in a statement that, though the appeal board ordered the case be heard again, the process was now at an end as the complainant had withdrawn the complaint due to personal reasons. This was due to concerns about the complainant's own personal safety and wellbeing as a result of the coverage of the case. Ms Vaughan, who is now 18, told BBC Sport: 'It's definitely impacted my normal life a lot.' She said there was 'no reason for the FA to put me through all this', adding: 'They said I wasn't guilty anymore and they dropped my charges and cleared my record.' The FA announced in early May that they would ban transgender women from women's teams, following a Supreme Court ruling that said the term 'woman' in the Equality Act refers only to a biological woman. The change in policy came just a month after the FA had said that it would continue to allow transgender women to play in the women's game as long as they had reduced their testosterone levels. In a statement, the FA said: '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. To protect the players involved, and to respect the confidential details included, we are not in a position to publish further details about this case'.
Daily Mail
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Teenage girl footballer banned by FA for asking transgender opponent 'are you a man?' demands apology after sport's bosses dropped the case
A teenage footballer who received a match ban from the FA for asking a transgender opponent 'are you a man?' has demanded an apology after the case was dropped. Last year Cerys Vaughan, then 17, was sanctioned by a disciplinary panel for improper conduct after she made the comment while playing a friendly game in Lancashire. Having been told the player was transgender Vaughan says she then raised the matter with the referee over concerns she had about fairness and safety. According to The Telegraph, Vaughan admitted to asking a player who reportedly had a beard if they were a man. Following a complaint she was charged for breaching the FA Code of Conduct, Improper Conduct and for Improper Conduct aggravated by Gender Reassignment. The complaint was made via Kick It Out, an England-based anti-discrimination watchdog, and included a statement from the trans player and the opposing team's captain, who accused her of transphobia. Vaughan denied the charges but was found guilty by a National Serious Case Panel and banned for six games – four of which were suspended for 12 months. The ruling sparked fury from women's rights campaigners who protested against the Football Association's transgender inclusion policy outside Wembley in November 2024. Vaughan appealed the verdict and in February an FA appeal board found that she had received an 'unfair' hearing, quashed the original ruling, and ordered a new process to take place. The case has since been dropped after the complainant withdrew from the process. Vaughan, now 18, has chosen to reveal her identity and in her first broadcast interview told BBC Sport: 'It was stressful. It's definitely impacted my normal life a lot. 'In the end it was pointless, and there was no reason for the FA to put me through all this. 'They said I wasn't guilty anymore and they dropped my charges and cleared my record.' In a statement, the FA said: '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. 'To protect the players involved, and to respect the confidential details included, we are not in a position to publish further details about this case.' Vaughan has denied being transphobic. She is currently on the assessment pathway for autism, and it is common for autistic people to struggle to express their feelings regarding gender. After her case began, in July 2024, she said in a written statement: 'The moment the player clarified they were transgender (which I previously hadn't considered), I respected their answer fully, dropped the situation and immediately shifted my focus back to the game before seeking guidance from the referee. 'At no point was my question meant to be hurtful or malicious as I only intended to seek clarity in an unfamiliar situation. 'Knowing now that the player was transgender, I understand that there were better ways to approach this question.'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Footballer banned for trans comment wants FA apology
A teenage amateur footballer who was banned by the Football Association over remarks she made to a transgender woman opponent has demanded an apology from the governing body, claiming the case has "impacted" her life. Last year, Cerys Vaughan, then aged 17, was sanctioned by an FA disciplinary commission for improper conduct after she asked the rival player if they were a man during a friendly match. Having been told the player was transgender, Vaughan says she then raised the matter with the referee over concerns she had about fairness and safety. Following a complaint, she was charged with a breach of FA rules, and after a hearing she was handed a six-match ban, four of which were suspended. The case sparked a protest by women's rights campaigners outside Wembley, and scrutiny of the FA's gender eligibility policy. However, it can now be revealed that in February, an FA appeal board found that Vaughan had received an "unfair" hearing, quashed the original ruling, and ordered a new process to take place. The case has since been dropped after the complainant withdrew from the process. Vaughan, now 18, has chosen to reveal her identity and in her first broadcast interview told BBC Sport: "It was stressful. It's definitely impacted my normal life a lot. "In the end it was pointless, and there was no reason for the FA to put me through all this. "They said I wasn't guilty anymore and they dropped my charges and cleared my record." In a statement, the FA said: "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. "To protect the players involved, and to respect the confidential details included, we are not in a position to publish further details about this case." FA bars transgender women from women's football What does the 'definition of a woman' ruling mean for sport? The case began in July 2024 when Vaughan was playing a pre-season friendly for her local women's team in Lancashire. She said: "Just before the game kicked off I saw that one of the players [was] what I thought was a man, so I went and I asked, 'Are you a man?" She says her opponent clarified they were transgender and asked to speak about it at the end of the match, but Vaughan then asked the referee about it. "I assumed it would be a women's game, and that's why I was confused because I thought they'd brought a mixed team with them," said Vaughan. "I said, 'Is this player allowed to play in the match today?' "The ref said, 'I'm not sure, but because it's a friendly I'm going to let it slide'. "Their captain must have heard me ask, because she came up and she told me it wasn't an appropriate question, it wasn't a nice thing to say, and I needed to keep my transphobia off the pitch. I didn't understand why she was saying that." Vaughan says she is currently being assessed for possible autism, and that this may explain why she "wasn't afraid to ask the question". For several years, the FA has allowed transgender women to play in women's matches if they reduce their testosterone level, insisting they have a responsibility to make the game as accessible and inclusive as possible. However, earlier this month the FA announced it was introducing a ban from 1 June in the wake of a UK Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. Vaughan said days after the match she was informed by her club that she needed to provide a statement because she had been reported by a member of the opposition club, via football anti-discrimination body Kick It Out, to her local county FA. "I was confused because I didn't think I'd done anything wrong," she said. "I was shocked that they would report me but at that point I wasn't worried because I thought the FA would have some common sense and not go through with [it]." But Vaughan was then charged by Lancashire FA with "using abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting words or behaviour". It was further alleged it was an aggravated breach of FA rules because it included a reference to gender reassignment. According to documents seen by the BBC, Vaughan was alleged to have said, "that's a man", "are you a man" and "don't come here again", or similar. Vaughan denied the charges, insisting that she did not intend to be offensive to her opponent or to challenge their chosen identity, but wanted to understand if the rules were being followed. However, after a hearing, the disciplinary commission upheld both charges, finding that by raising the issue with the referee, Vaughan had showed a "continual action which indicated more than a casual question of curiosity." She was banned from all football for six matches, four of which were suspended for a period of one year, and was ordered to complete an online equality and diversity course. "I was really upset," said Vaughan. "It got put on my record that I'd been accused of misconduct, and I didn't want that to stay there, and I knew I wasn't guilty so I appealed it." In November, with her identity remaining a secret, the matter was raised in parliament by former FA chairman Lord Triesman. He criticised the governing body's handling of the case, saying Vaughan "seems to me to have been treated in a shabby way", and her appeal was supported by campaign group the Free Speech Union. The controversy also led to a protest by women's rights campaigners outside Wembley before an England men's fixture. "It was really nice to see other people weren't afraid to speak up," said Vaughan. In February, an FA appeal board stated it was "concerned about fundamental aspects" of the case, noting that Vaughan became upset while being questioned during the original hearing. It said that "maybe for the best of intentions, it led the Commission to truncate her evidence," adding: "That appears to have prevented her from completing her account." It said that the commission should have considered measures to enable Vaughan "to her give best account in this important case. This appears not to have been done or offered. That was unfair to Cerys". The appeal body also said it was "also concerned about core aspect of the commission's reasoning," disagreeing that Vaughan had admitted the aggravated breach, and concluding "there appears to have been no consideration of her explanation". It added that this was "sufficient for us to allow the appeal and quash the commission's decision, which we do". It said: "Since Cerys did not receive a fair hearing, the correct approach is to remit this case to a differently constituted commission… there should be a resolution of this important case on the merits after a fair hearing." Vaughan says she is "happy" that the case has now been dropped, and welcomed the FA's ban on transgender women from playing in women's football, falling in line with several other sports. "They've basically admitted that I was right in what I did," she said. "If the new ruling was in place when I asked the original question I never would have been punished for anything. "I'd like the FA to apologise for the way that they treated me… it was a very long, drawn-out case and there was no reason for it to be." The FA's U-turn in policy pleased those concerned about transgender women retaining physiological advantages from male puberty and the risks to fairness and safety. But it has also drawn criticism from those who fear it will exclude the 28 registered transgender women in English football from the sport, and marginalise the trans community. There are currently no transgender women playing in professional football. Natalie Washington, campaign lead for Football v Transphobia, told BBC Sport that the FA rule change is because of "a lot of attention on a very small number of people who aren't causing a problem, and are just going about their lives. It is a de facto ban for transgender women from football more generally, realistically, particularly people who have been playing in women's football for decades." When asked if she has sympathy for transgender women who may now not play, Vaughan said: "No... I also have a love for the game. I compete with other women. I love football, and if biological males get involved that makes the experience worse for everyone else because then it's not an even game… I don't think the women's game has to be inclusive. It should be women only." Asked what she would say to those who believe transgender women should still be able to play in women's football if they reduce their testosterone, Vaughan said: "With the height advantage, the difference in bone density, that's there from the beginning, and I think it's unfair. "I'm at a greater risk of injury, and if you've gone through male puberty you'll always have the biological advantage." Last week, the FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said the amendment of the FA's rules had been a "difficult decision" based on legal advice, and that it understands "how difficult this decision will be for people who want to play football in the gender by which they identify, and we are aware of the significant impact this will have on them".
BBC News
10-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Footballer banned for trans comment wants FA apology
A teenage amateur footballer who was banned by the Football Association over remarks she made to a transgender woman opponent has demanded an apology from the governing body, claiming the case has "impacted" her year, Cerys Vaughan, then aged 17, was sanctioned by an FA disciplinary commission for improper conduct after she asked the rival player if they were a man during a friendly been told the player was transgender, Vaughan says she then raised the matter with the referee over concerns she had about fairness and a complaint, she was charged with a breach of FA rules, and after a hearing she was handed a six-match ban, four of which were case sparked a protest by women's rights campaigners outside Wembley, and scrutiny of the FA's gender eligibility it can now be revealed that in February, an FA appeal board found that Vaughan had received an "unfair" hearing, quashed the original ruling, and ordered a new process to take case has since been dropped after the complainant withdrew from the her first broadcast interview, Vaughan, now 18, told BBC Sport: "It was stressful. It's definitely impacted my normal life a lot."In the end it was pointless, and there was no reason for the FA to put me through all this."They said I wasn't guilty anymore and they dropped my charges and cleared my record."In a statement, the FA said: "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."To protect the players involved, and to respect the confidential details included, we are not in a position to publish further details about this case." What is the background? The case began in July 2024 when Vaughan was playing a pre-season friendly for her local women's team in said: "Just before the game kicked off I saw that one of the players [was] what I thought was a man, so I went and I asked, 'Are you a man?"She says her opponent clarified they were transgender and asked to speak about it at the end of the match, but Vaughan then asked the referee about it."I assumed it would be a women's game, and that's why I was confused because I thought they'd brought a mixed team with them," said Vaughan."I said, 'Is this player allowed to play in the match today?'"The ref said, 'I'm not sure, but because it's a friendly I'm going to let it slide'."Their captain must have heard me ask, because she came up and she told me it wasn't an appropriate question, it wasn't a nice thing to say, and I needed to keep my transphobia off the pitch. I didn't understand why she was saying that."Vaughan says she is currently being assessed for possible autism, and that this may explain why she "wasn't afraid to ask the question".For several years, the FA has allowed transgender women to play in women's matches if they reduce their testosterone level, insisting they have a responsibility to make the game as accessible and inclusive as earlier this month the FA announced it was introducing a ban from 1 June in the wake of a UK Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. 'Shocked' about being reported Vaughan said days after the match she was informed by her club that she needed to provide a statement because she had been reported by a member of the opposition club, via football anti-discrimination body Kick It Out, to her local county FA."I was confused because I didn't think I'd done anything wrong," she said."I was shocked that they would report me but at that point I wasn't worried because I thought the FA would have some common sense and not go through with [it]."But Vaughan was then charged by Lancashire FA with "using abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting words or behaviour".It was further alleged it was an aggravated breach of FA rules because it included a reference to gender reassignment. According to documents seen by the BBC, Vaughan was alleged to have said, "that's a man", "are you a man" and "don't come here again", or denied the charges, insisting that she did not intend to be offensive to her opponent or to challenge their chosen identity, but wanted to understand if the rules were being after a hearing, the disciplinary commission upheld both charges, finding that by raising the issue with the referee, Vaughan had showed a "continual action which indicated more than a casual question of curiosity."She was banned from all football for six matches, four of which were suspended for a period of one year, and was ordered to complete an online equality and diversity course."I was really upset," said Vaughan. "It got put on my record that I'd been accused of misconduct, and I didn't want that to stay there, and I knew I wasn't guilty so I appealed it."In November, the matter was raised in parliament by former FA chairman Lord Triesman, who criticised the governing body's handling of the case, saying Vaughan "seems to me to have been treated in a shabby way", and her appeal was supported by campaign group the Free Speech controversy also led to a protest by women's rights campaigners outside Wembley before an England men's fixture."It was really nice to see other people weren't afraid to speak up," said Vaughan. Appeal board found hearing 'unfair' In February, an FA appeal board stated it was "concerned about fundamental aspects" of the case, noting that Vaughan became upset while being questioned during the original said that "maybe for the best of intentions, it led the Commission to truncate her evidence," adding: "That appears to have prevented her from completing her account."It said that the commission should have considered measures to enable Vaughan "to her give best account in this important case. This appears not to have been done or offered. That was unfair to Cerys".The appeal body also said it was "also concerned about core aspect of the commission's reasoning," disagreeing that Vaughan had admitted the aggravated breach, and concluding "there appears to have been no consideration of her explanation".It added that this was "sufficient for us to allow the appeal and quash the commission's decision, which we do".It said: "Since Cerys did not receive a fair hearing, the correct approach is to remit this case to a differently constituted commission… there should be a resolution of this important case on the merits after a fair hearing." Vaughan seeking FA apology Vaughan says she is "happy" that the case has now been dropped, and welcomed the FA's ban on transgender women from playing in women's football, falling in line with several other sports."They've basically admitted that I was right in what I did," she said. "If the new ruling was in place when I asked the original question I never would have been punished for anything."I'd like the FA to apologise for the way that they treated me… it was a very long, drawn-out case and there was no reason for it to be."The FA's U-turn in policy pleased those concerned about transgender women retaining physiological advantages from male puberty and the risks to fairness and it has also drawn criticism from those who fear it will exclude the 28 registered transgender women in English football from the sport, and marginalise the trans community. There are currently no transgender women playing in professional Washington, campaign lead for Football v Transphobia, told BBC Sport that the FA rule change is because of "a lot of attention on a very small number of people who aren't causing a problem, and are just going about their lives. It is a de facto ban for transgender women from football more generally, realistically, particularly people who have been playing in women's football for decades."When asked if she has sympathy for transgender women who may now not play, Vaughan said: "No... I also have a love for the game. I compete with other women. I love football, and if biological males get involved that makes the experience worse for everyone else because then it's not an even game… I don't think the women's game has to be inclusive. It should be women only."Asked what she would say to those who believe transgender women should still be able to play in women's football if they reduce their testosterone, Vaughan said: "With the height advantage, the difference in bone density, that's there from the beginning, and I think it's unfair."I'm at a greater risk of injury, and if you've gone through male puberty you'll always have the biological advantage."Last week, the FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said the amendment of the FA's rules had been a "difficult decision" based on legal advice, and that it understands "how difficult this decision will be for people who want to play football in the gender by which they identify, and we are aware of the significant impact this will have on them".
