The AFL has cleared a transgender footballer to continue playing in a women’s community competition despite three clubs raising concerns about player safety.
Westminster Old Scholars player Freya Golding was permitted to remain in the Adelaide Footy League women’s competition following a review by the AFL’s Gender Diversity Policy Committee.
The assessment was launched after formal complaints were submitted by three clubs questioning whether Golding’s participation presented an unacceptable safety risk to other players.
In a confidential email seen by Nine News, the committee confirmed it had decided against excluding Golding from the competition.
‘The Committee determined that it was not satisfied that the Player’s participation in the Competition gives rise to unacceptable safety risks,’ the email read.
‘Accordingly, the Player is permitted to continue to participate in the Competition.’
Golding welcomed the verdict and rejected suggestions that she held a significant physical advantage over her opponents.
‘I’m not the biggest and tallest player getting around,’ Golding said.
Freya Golding was cleared by the AFL to continue playing women’s community football in Adelaide this season
Three Adelaide Footy League clubs lodged formal complaints questioning whether Golding’s participation presented an unacceptable safety risk
‘And by no means am I a dominant player.
‘I’ve had some good moments, but it’s rare I get in the best players.
‘I just want to play the sport I love with a great group of people and I’ve been so lucky to do that this year.’
However, Adelaide Footy League chief executive John Kernahan said the competition had not changed its position on the potential danger posed to other players.
‘We to this day maintain that it is a safety risk,’ Kernahan said.
‘This particular player is 6’2′ or 6’3’, 92kg.
‘I appreciate the notion that there might be other naturally born women that are 6’3′ and 92kg. But they are few and far between.’
Despite those concerns, the league has accepted the AFL committee’s ruling and Golding remains eligible to play.
The AFL’s Gender Diversity Policy Committee found Golding did not create an unacceptable risk for opposing footballers
Golding, pictured in jersey 39, said she was not a dominant player and simply wanted to continue playing the sport she loved
However, the AFL left the door open to another risk assessment if new information emerges that could change the committee’s findings.
The decision was made under the AFL’s Community Football Gender Diversity Policy, which differs from the rules applied at elite and semi-professional levels.
Under the community policy, players are generally allowed to compete in the category that matches their gender identity.
That means transgender women can play in women’s competitions and transgender men can play in men’s competitions without having to meet testosterone thresholds. Non-binary players can choose which competition they enter.
Crucially, a community player cannot be excluded simply because they are considered to have a competitive advantage over cisgender opponents.
The key exception is safety. A player can be individually assessed if concerns are raised that their participation poses an unacceptable risk to themselves or other players.
Those concerns can initially be dealt with at a local level, but formal complaints can trigger a review by the AFL’s Gender Diversity Policy Committee, as occurred in Golding’s case.
The rules are stricter in professional and semi-professional football, including the AFLW and state leagues.
The Adelaide Footy League accepted the AFL committee’s ruling despite maintaining its concerns about safety in the competition
The AFL previously blocked Hannah Mouncey, pictured right, from entering the 2017 AFLW draft over an unreasonable physical advantage
At the elite level, transgender women must maintain testosterone levels below five nanomoles per litre for at least two years before they can compete.
The AFL has previously faced difficult decisions involving transgender players seeking to compete at the highest level.
In 2017, it blocked transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey from entering the AFLW draft after a five-person subcommittee assessed her strength, stamina and physique.
Mouncey, who stood 190cm and weighed 100kg, had played eight matches and kicked 17 goals for Ainslie in the Canberra Women’s League after previously representing Australia in men’s handball.
The subcommittee concluded she would have held an unreasonable physical advantage over AFLW opponents.
That ruling applied only to the 2017 draft and the following AFLW season. Mouncey was still cleared to return to Ainslie and play community football in Canberra.
‘While I am extremely disappointed with the AFL’s decision regarding my participation in tomorrow’s AFLW draft, I thank them for the genuine way in which they approached my situation,’ Mouncey said at the time.
‘Despite not being able to take part in the draft, the AFL has given me the all clear to play for Ainslie next year in the AFL Canberra competition for which I am very grateful and look forward to doing in 2018, before hopefully being able to nominate for next year’s draft.’
The AFL said at the time that Mouncey’s case would help shape its future transgender policies and that elite applications would be decided on their individual circumstances.
