The father of a female football player has been left ‘absolutely furious’ after a women’s team consisting of five transgender players secured another resounding victory on Tuesday night.
The Flying Bats team took out the Beryl Ackroyd preseason tournament in Sydney on March 24, winning every game they played and running out 4-0 victors in the grand final, with one trans player scoring six goals in a 10-0 romp on their way to the title.
Their tournament victory led to complaints from club officials and parents, with some insisting the Flying Bats should compete in the mixed competition, which includes men.
Clubs were subsequently told that they would be subject to disciplinary action if they refused to take to the field against the Bats and would be punished for discrimination.
Last month’s story went viral, with Harry Potter author JK Rowling among vocal critics of the team’s inclusion in the competition.
And on Tuesday, the Flying Bats picked up another mammoth victory, beating Beecroft FC 12-0 in the Sapphire Cup. According to radio station 2GB, nine of the 12 goals were scored by players born male.
A furious parent, who went by the name ‘Steve’, called into Ben Fordham’s show on Wednesday morning to express his frustrations.
‘I’m absolutely furious at Football Australia for allowing this team to continue,’ he said.
‘No-one has a problem with transgender athletes. No-one has a problem with that. Everyone thinks they should be entitled to play. But they should play in the competition where they were born.
‘We’ve got 12-0 results… I’m so proud of my club and my daughter who are going to be going on the field in a women’s competition to do their best against women.
‘It scares me first of all from a safety point of view but it also infuriates me because of all of the effort we put in: the volunteers and the sponsorship and everything we do to support the team, we could get drawn against a team of men in the next game and be out of this prestigious competition.
‘When nine of the 12 goals get scored by guys, how can women… this is why there’s a women’s competition, because women can’t compete with men at the same level.
‘Nobody is discriminating here. All transgender people should be entitled to play, I’ve got no problem with that, but in the sex that they were born, that’s fair.’
On the Flying Bats’ official website, they claim they are ‘the biggest LGBTQIA+ women’s and non-binary football club in the world’.
Club president Jennifer Peden told Daily Mail Australia last month: ‘As a club, the Flying Bats FC stand strongly for inclusion, and pride ourselves on safe, respectful and fair play, the promotion of a supportive community for LGBTQIA+ players, officials and supporters, and the significant physical, social and mental health benefits that participation in sport brings, especially to marginalised members of the LGBTQIA+ community. We are a club that values our cisgender and transgender players equally.
‘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 of Football Australia, Football NSW, and the North West Sydney Football Association 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.’
The LGBTI Rights Australia Facebook group posted a message congratulating the team shortly after they won the Beryl Ackroyd Cup and slammed critics of the side.
‘Transgender women have been proudly part of the bats for 20 YEARS, yet it took terf N@zi$ up until this week to take notice,’ the message read.
‘This underscores that the issue isn’t transgender athletes but the exploitation of sports for political gain.
‘Congratulations to the Flying Bats Soccer Club who recently won the Beryl Ackroyd Cup! (And to all the transphobes complaining, we suggest you train a bit harder).’
