SARAH VINE: Trans women have no place in a female football team

Football teaches you a lot about life. When my son was barely three, I signed him up for my local club, Little Foxes. He hated it at first, of course — but he soon got into it, and so began his enduring love affair with the beautiful game.

Despite the disappointment of realising, around the age of 12, that he was never going to be the next Ronaldo — a rite of passage I suspect other parents will be familiar with — he still plays.

It gives him focus, friends, fitness and something to talk about (football being a universal language) — and it has taught him some useful life skills, not least how to deal with crushing defeat which, as a Chelsea fan, has come in rather handy of late.

Being a parent, you learn a lot, too, from watching your kid play. There’s nothing like a rainy Sunday morning touchline to bring out the best — and worst — in people.

As for the kids themselves, they come in all shapes, sizes and varieties: tall, short, thin, fat, kind, nasty. Up until puberty it’s pretty much a level playing field — but once those hormones start to kick in, everything changes. Inevitably some kids mature earlier than others — and boy do you notice the difference.

The crisis is said to have been precipitated by a player suffering an injured knee when ‘blocking a shot’ by Ms Needham (pictured)

Around the time my son was 13 or 14, we’d turn up at some games to find half the opposing team were basically already blokes. Technically still children, the onset of male puberty had given them the strength and speed — and aggression — of fully grown men.

It was not uncommon for my son to be marked by someone twice his weight and size. It was like watching a poodle being chased by an XL bully: he didn’t stand a chance. The difference in ability was astonishing, and really brought home to me the power of those male hormones, and the undeniable advantage they bring on the sporting field.

I was reminded of this when I read about Francesca Needham, a trans footballer for the South Yorkshire-based Rossington Main Ladies, who yesterday quit her team after rivals ‘terrified’ by her physical power on the pitch refused to compete against her. The crisis is said to have been precipitated by a player suffering an injured knee when ‘blocking a shot’ by Ms Needham.

Now she is threatening to sue, claiming the boycott ‘represents a breach of a code of conduct regarding diversity and inclusion’, and adding that she has ‘diligently met every single requirement set out by the Football Association (FA) to play’.

I don’t doubt that she has. But the idea that this situation has anything to do with discrimination is absurd. Male puberty is irreversible. Sure, you can take hormone blockers but you can’t undo the increased size, muscle mass, strength and speed brought about by that process.

Ms Needham is threatening to sue, claiming the boycott ‘represents a breach of a code of conduct regarding diversity and inclusion’

So while Ms Needham is a woman in the eyes of society, in her muscles, tissues and bones she genetically remains, I’m afraid, what nature originally intended her to be.

That’s not prejudice, just reality. Other women don’t want to play against her — not because they don’t respect her right to identify as a woman but because physically she has the strength of a man. And in a contact sport like football, that not only gives her an unfair advantage, I believe it also makes her presence potentially dangerous.

Of course, this is not the first time we’ve been here. The issue of trans women in women’s sport is a live one that, for some reason, seems to pose an insurmountable challenge for many. I can’t understand why. We don’t allow doping in sport, do we? Allowing trans women to compete against biological women is a clear equivalent.

In truth, though, the fault lies not with Ms Needham but with the FA, which — like so many other sporting bodies in recent years — has failed to grasp the nettle and act with any degree of common sense around this issue, presumably for fear of unleashing a woke backlash.

But yesterday there were signs that the tide is finally turning. After a long consultation, the International Cricket Council followed the leads of the world cycling body Union Cycliste Internationale and the World Athletics Council for their sports by announcing a ban on male-born players taking part in international women’s cricket.

Francesca Needham, a trans footballer for the South Yorkshire-based Rossington Main Ladies, quit her team after rivals were ‘terrified’ by her physical power on the pitch

Specifically, ‘any male to female participants who have been through any form of male puberty… regardless of any gender reassignment treatment they may have undertaken’. This is to be applauded.

But that ban only applies to top-level cricket. At grass roots level, the pitch is slightly muddier.

Perhaps the way forward is to take a leaf out of the junior rugby union in New Zealand. A few years ago, they introduced boxing-style weight categories to get around the problem of some boys maturing earlier than others. For example, the under-12s restriction is 49kg, under-13 is 55kg, and so on. It ensures a much fairer playing field and lowers the likelihood of serious injuries.

Ultimately, it’s not complicated. If Ms Needham wants to play football, she is more than entitled to pursue her sporting dream — so long as she doesn’t stand in the way of other women pursuing theirs.

 End of Adele’s tragic ballads?

Congratulations to Adele, who finally confirmed the worst-kept secret in showbiz — that she’s married her sports agent boyfriend Rich Paul. ‘I’ve never been in love like this,’ she said. ‘I’m obsessed with him. I definitely want more kids.’ 

The singer has cornered the market in tragic break-up and betrayal ballads

Adele has finally married her sports agent boyfriend Rich Paul (Pictured: Paul and Adele attend the 65th Grammy Awards)

As a fan of her extraordinary voice, I’m happy for her — but I can’t help wondering what this means for her career. After all, she’s cornered the market in tragic break-up and betrayal ballads.

Not sure that tales of dirty nappies and 3am feeds will have quite the same magic.

I was gripped by Piers Morgan’s interview with Andrew Tate the other day — not so much for the nonsense Tate had to say, but for what he was wearing.

His suit seemed about three sizes too small for him, his absurdly steroidal frame straining the seams of his jacket.

No doubt he thought he looked utterly irresistible. In fact, it only made his tiny peabrain look even tinier by comparison.

Fans favour Farage

As I predicted, Nigel Farage is going great guns on I’m A Celeb, with armies of new fans declaring him the ‘GOAT’ (greatest of all time) on TikTok.

Armies of new fans have taken to social media to declare Nigel Farage the ‘GOAT’ 

I think it helps that expectations were so low. People like Nigel are so demonised by the Left that the public is often just amazed when it turns out they don’t actually have horns and a tail.

That said, there has to be a slight whiff of sulphur about anyone who can persuade ITV to pay him £1.5 million for the privilege of broadcasting a prolonged political broadcast for the Reform Party. Ooh Nigel, you are wicked.

I know ITV’s Robert Peston has always had a certain flamboyant style, but what on earth was he wearing outside Downing Street the other night? He looked like he was presenting Cbeebies, not the news. Either that, or panto season has kicked off early! 

ITV’s Robert Peston was spotted sporting a flamboyant scarf outside Downing Street

‘David Cameron is introduced to the House of Lords’ said the headlines on Monday. Introduced? The former prime minister probably went to School with most of them. Several others are there thanks to him. I hardly think that introductions are necessary. 

The President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was in London this week meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was in London this week meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

I wonder if the latter managed to ask the former how he feels about the fact that, despite Britain giving Somalia millions in foreign aid, the British taxpayer still had to foot the bill for armed guards to protect convicted Somali rapist Yaqub Ahmed after he was — finally — deported.

UK sales of Le Creuset, beloved of middle-class cooks everywhere, have slumped by nearly 20 per cent. The company blames the cost-of-living crisis — but I reckon it’s the great kitchen evil of our times: air fryers. Who needs something that costs a fortune, weighs a ton and requires two people to lift it when you can just flick a switch and voila, perfect frites in minutes? 

Goodness. That was quite a glimpse of the Royal leg we saw as the Princess of Wales stepped out of her car to greet the President of South Korea and his wife at their hotel yesterday. Someone’s clearly been doing a lot of squats. Still, might I suggest a Royal safety pin next time? 

The Princess of Wales stepped out of her car to greet the President of South Korea and his wife at their hotel yesterday

Inquiry’s just another stitch-up

I’m sorry, but the Covid Inquiry has descended into a most unedifying farce. This week’s testimony by former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, in which he quoted Dominic Cummings as saying that the then chancellor Rishi Sunak thought it would be OK to ‘just let people die’, was the last straw. 

If it were up to me, I would shut it down and spend the money on something useful. Potholes, maybe. It’s not that the public doesn’t want or deserve answers. It’s just clear that, rather like Sue Gray’s stitch-up of Boris Johnson and Partygate (I’m sorry, but the fact she now works for Labour says it all), those in charge have already established their narrative. And the outcome. 

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