Scottish FA bans trans women from playing in women's competitive football

The Scottish FA is to ban transgender women from playing in women’s competitive football.

The new policy will mean that only those born biologically female will be permitted to play in any game under the governing body’s rules, which run from the grassroots at under-13 level to the top of the professional league and the national team.

Hampden bosses had been discussing updating their gender policy for some time but the new approach was approved at a board meeting last week.

The decision comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”.

The existing policy in Scottish football allows transgender women to play in competitive matches in women’s football after being assessed on a case-by-case basis, with testosterone level being taken into account in decision-making.

It’s understood that the rule change will apply from next season at the latest but could come into effect sooner.

There are currently no transgender women believed to be playing in competitive football north of the border.

The Scottish FA’s decision follows similar decisions in other sports. In 2023, Scottish Rugby amended its transgender policy along similar lines.