Teen Footballer Cleared in Transgender Comment Case Seeks Apology from FA

[Social Media]

 

Teen Footballer Cleared in Transgender Comment Case Seeks Apology from FA

 

Cerys Vaughan, an 18-year-old amateur footballer, is calling on the Football Association (FA) to apologise after being cleared of misconduct charges related to a question she asked a transgender opponent during a match last year. Vaughan, who was 17 at the time, was initially punished by the FA for improper conduct after she inquired if a rival player was a man during a pre-season friendly. Her comments led to a disciplinary hearing, during which she was handed a six-match ban—four of which were suspended—and ordered to complete an equality and diversity course.

Female football player BANNED from competing for questioning Transgender male player asks for apology from the Football Association.

“I think that if biological males get involved then that just makes the game, the experience worse for everyone else.”

pic.twitter.com/1gEHNW3kLA

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 11, 2025

 

The incident, which took place in Lancashire in July 2024, quickly escalated after Vaughan approached the referee for clarification about her opponent’s eligibility. “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?’” Vaughan told BBC Sport. Upon learning the player was transgender, she says she asked the referee whether the player was allowed to participate. “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,” she explained.

 

Following the match, Vaughan was reported by a member of the opposition team through the anti-discrimination body Kick It Out, and the case was brought before her local county FA. She was charged with “using abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting words or behaviour,” and the charge was aggravated due to a reference to gender reassignment. Allegedly, Vaughan said, “that’s a man,” “are you a man,” and “don’t come here again,” or similar phrases—claims she has denied.

 

Vaughan insisted she never intended to be offensive, and said she simply wanted to understand if the game was being played within FA rules. “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.” However, the disciplinary commission ruled that her behavior was more than a simple query, calling it “a continual action.”

 

Public support began to grow after her story reached Parliament in November, when former FA chairman Lord Triesman criticised the handling of the case and said Vaughan “seems to me to have been treated in a shabby way.” Protests outside Wembley and backing from the Free Speech Union followed.

 

In February 2025, an FA appeal board overturned the ruling, stating Vaughan had not received a fair hearing. The board found that her ability to give full evidence had been restricted, saying, “maybe for the best of intentions, it led the Commission to truncate her evidence… That was unfair to Cerys.” The appeal also found flaws in the reasoning behind the original ruling and concluded her explanation had not been adequately considered. “Since Cerys did not receive a fair hearing, the correct approach is to remit this case to a differently constituted commission,” the board stated. However, the case was later dropped after the complainant withdrew.

 

Vaughan, who says she is currently being assessed for possible autism, believes the ordeal was unnecessary. “It was stressful. It’s definitely impacted my normal life a lot,” she said. “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.”

 

Now that the FA has introduced a new policy banning transgender women from playing in women’s matches, effective from June 1, Vaughan feels vindicated. “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 said the case is now closed, citing the withdrawal of the complainant and the need to respect confidential details. But for Vaughan, the experience leaves a lasting impact. While she says she has no sympathy for transgender women now excluded by the new rule, campaigners like Natalie Washington of Football v Transphobia argue it’s a disproportionate response that marginalises a small and vulnerable group. “It is a de facto ban for transgender women from football more generally,” Washington said.

 

Vaughan disagrees, citing concerns about fairness and safety. “I don’t think the women’s game has to be inclusive. It should be women only,” she 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.”

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC  2025-05-13

 

 

[Scottie12]

Evidently the guy had a beard,you couldn't make it up !

[JonnyF]

Well done Cerys for standing up for women's rights.

 

You have a right to play against other women on a level playing field without being injured by a man with pigtails. 

 

We need more brave young women like this, and less plastic feminists who roll over to support men in women's changing rooms because it happens to be the latest fad. 

 

 

[Photoguy21]

It is about time that the government stopped all of this nonsense. A man is a man and a woman is a woman. You cannot change from man to woman unless you have a deranged mind.

[TigerandDog]

If somebody wants to identify as a different gender to the one they are born with, I don't have a problem with that. We see lots of that on a daily basis in Thailand. However, IMHO transgender males should NOT be allowed to participate in female sports. In my neck of the woods in Northern Thailand there are 2 options for transgender males who wish to play sport. #1. They compete with the men #2. There are transgender volleyball tournaments and they are very popular with the transgender guys and supported by the local communities.  If a transgender guy tried to participate in a female sport, even though there are no local rules to prevent that from happening, the locals would not allow that to happen.

[Snackbar]

Nutters; No longer in power, thankfully 

[Bert got kinky]

 

We only have ourselves to blame for this mess.

Whose idea was it to let females venture from the kitchen to a football field?

 

 

[JonnyF]

1 hour ago, TigerandDog said:

If a transgender guy tried to participate in a female sport, even though there are no local rules to prevent that from happening, the locals would not allow that to happen.

 

That's because Thais are smarter than Western Liberals, and haven't been infected with the Woke mind virus.

 

I've seen some Ladyboy kickboxers fighting blokes in Thailand. They're very skilled, and vicious, they put up a great fight. And why wouldn't they? They are biologically male.

 

Put one of them in with a woman of the same weight and the woman would be in danger of very serious injury. Only a Western Lib would be dumb enough to consider such a thing. 

[klauskunkel]

15 hours ago, Social Media said:

Vaughan was initially punished by the FA for improper conduct. Her comments led to a disciplinary hearing, during which she was handed a six-match ban and ordered to complete an equality and diversity course.

I think the FA needs to be punished for improper conduct. They should be ordered to compensate Vaughan appropriately for any banned matches and complete a common sense and reality check course.

[JonnyF]

13 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

I think the FA needs to be punished for improper conduct. They should be ordered to compensate Vaughan appropriately for any banned matches and complete a common sense and reality check course.

 

Agree. The FA is as Woke as they come. Remember all the "taking a knee" for BLM under Southgate while all other political posturing was banned? The rainbow laces?

 

The only reason that loser Southgate was kept in the job was because he's another virtue signalling lefty Lineker wannabee who had no backbone to stand up to them. A "Yes" man. 

 

The FA needs to focus on winning something, something England hasn't done for almost 6 decades, not on proving their Woke credentials. They are an embarrassment. 

[quake]

Well done girl. 

[GanDoonToonPet]

20 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

It is about time that the government stopped all of this nonsense. A man is a man and a woman is a woman. You cannot change from man to woman unless you have a deranged mind.

 

The Supreme court beat them to it. Laughable to expect the current 'progressive' Labour gov to do anything about it.

 

Isn't it strange that they back down when these things go viral. It's almost like they know they are doing something wrong and try to hide it.