Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

England's Rugby Union and Rugby League ban transgender players from women's game

It held extensive consultation, studied scientific evidence and sought guidance from other sporting bodies before voting on the policy.

England's Rugby Union and Rugby League ban transgender players from women's game

England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL) will restrict transgender participation in the domestic game, with the governing bodies recommending that only players recorded as female at birth be allowed to play in the women's category.

The RFU said last week that it began a review of its existing policy in 2020 with a survey that got over 11,000 responses.


It held extensive consultation, studied scientific evidence and sought guidance from other sporting bodies before voting on the policy amid safety and fairness concerns, with 33 in favour, 26 against and two abstaining.

"The RFU Council has determined that until such time as new further peer-reviewed science is available, a precautionary approach is appropriate to ensure fair competition and safety of all competitors," it said in a statement on Friday.

The RFL board also approved its new gender participation policy, which will take effect next month and be reviewed by November 2024.

"For all contact Rugby League from Under-12s and above, there will be a female-only category, in which players will only be permitted to play in the gender category of the sex that was originally recorded at birth," the RFL said.

"Non-contact Rugby League ... and Wheelchair Rugby League remains mixed-gender and available for all without any gender-based eligibility criteria."

World Rugby last year banned transgender players from competing at the elite level of the women's game, citing safety concerns.

World Athletics and soccer's world governing body FIFA are among a number of sports federations reviewing their guidelines on the involvement of transgender athletes following world swimming body FINA's ruling to ban anyone who has been through male puberty from elite women's competitions.

RFU president Jeff Blackett said many people would be disappointed by the decision but it was "based on all the scientific evidence available".

The RFU added that it also considered the merits of a case-by-case assessment process but it was no longer a viable option due to the "difficulties in identifying a credible test to assess physiological variables".

Transgender players whose sex recorded at birth is female may still play in the male category if they provide written consent and a risk assessment is carried out.

More For You

King Charles

King Charles, wearing a black armband to pay respects to the victims of Air India plane crash, attends the Trooping the Colour parade on his official birthday in London. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Victims remembered during King Charles's birthday parade

A MINUTE's silence for the victims of the Air India plane crash was observed on Saturday during the Trooping the Colour parade in London marking King Charles's official birthday. Some members of the royal family wore black armbands during the ceremony.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said King Charles, 76, had requested changes to the parade “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rochdale grooming case

They were all remanded in custody, except Bashir, who absconded before the trial began. (Photo: Greater Manchester Police)

Seven men convicted of raping 13-year-old girls in Rochdale grooming case

SEVEN men were convicted on Friday in the UK’s latest grooming trial, after a jury heard that two girl victims were forced to have sex “with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses”.

Jurors at the court in Manchester, northwest England, deliberated for three weeks before finding the seven men, all of whom are of South Asian descent, guilty of rape.

Keep ReadingShow less
karan-thakar

Karun Thakar is a leading textile collector with a lifelong focus on Asian and African textiles

Karun Collection

Karun Thakar Fund to support textile research with scholarships and grants

THE KARUN THAKAR FUND, established by textile collector Karun Thakar in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), supports the study of Asian and African textiles and dress through scholarships and project grants.

The fund offers one-time Scholarship Awards of up to £10,000 for university students worldwide focusing on any aspect of Asian or African textiles and dress. Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students from any accredited university are eligible, provided their research or practice is clearly linked to these areas. The next round of Scholarship Award applications opens on 1 May 2025 and closes at 23:59 on July 15, 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India

A view shows the wreckage of the tail section of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from airport in Ahmedabad. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Probe focuses on engine and flaps; safety checks ordered for 787 fleet

THE INVESTIGATION into the Air India crash that killed more than 240 people is focusing on the aircraft's engine, flaps, and landing gear.

The Indian aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on the airline’s entire Boeing 787 fleet, reported Reuters.

Keep ReadingShow less