Second Women's Soccer Player Suspended For Asking If Transgender Opponents Are Men As Ridiculousness Continues

An 18-year-old women's soccer player was suspended six games for asking referees if the transgender opponents on the opposing team were men. The incident took place in England, and it's not the first time it has happened.

The Football Association (FA) in England has a policy that allows biological males who identify as females, aged 16 or older, to play against women. In other words, the FA is entirely accepting of not only biological men, but biological men going through or that have gone through puberty, to compete against females.

One incident of a female teenager getting banned for inquiring about biological men on the opposing team occurred in November. The 17-year-old who reportedly has autism allegedly asked a transgender opponent "are you a man?" As a result, the female player was handed a six-game ban, with four of those games being a result of a suspension. 

In September, an 18-year-old female player who reportedly has learning difficulties made a comment to referees asking if the opposing team's goalkeeper and other transgender athletes were eligible to play. As a result, the female player was not only given a six-match ban, with two games suspended, but was also forced to undergo an "online education course." Her team was also dealt seven disciplinary points.

The female player was required to provide a written statement, which was acquired by the Telegraph. In the statement, the female said she had sought guidance from the referee due to her trans opponents’ "extremely aggressive" style of play. She also said she had not taken her ADHD medication on the day in question because "another medical condition" had prevented her from doing so.

The female admitted to trying to ask players if their team-mates were biologically male after failing to get clarity from the ref, who, she wrote in her statement, had threatened to send her off if she continued to ask him about the situation.

In incredibly predictable fashion, an FA spokesperson explained that the association must "protect the players involved," meaning the transgender athletes, therefore details about the suspensions and decision to hand them out must be "confidential."

What we have here is another situation of biological men in women's sports being protected while the female athletes, in this case, two female athletes with autism and learning disabilities, get punished for asking why they have to compete against men. 

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets, including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016, when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.