A row has erupted after a women'sfootball team consisting of five transgender players won the pre-season Beryl Ackroyd Cup tournament in Sydney, Australia.
Flying Bats FC won every game they played over the course of the four-week competition, winning the grand final 4-0 at Macquarie Park on Sunday to take home the $1000 jackpot.
There were huge winning margins in some games, with one trans player scoring six goals in a 10-0 victory.
Furious parents have withdrawn their daughters from games due to safety concerns, telling News Corp that players were unaware that they had signed up to compete against biological males.
Club officials have also contacted Football NSW to express their concerns, with some insisting that the Flying Bats should play in the mixed competition, which includes men.
Pride Football Australia congratulated the Flying Bats team on winning a Sydney football tournament in an Instagram post last Sunday (pictured)
The team features five trans members - and it's been alleged other players in the competition didn't know they would be a chance of playing against them (stock image)
'Our girls are here to play for fun and expect to play in the female competition. They did not sign up for a mixed competition,' a senior club official told the Daily Telegraph.
'There's no transparency from Football NSW, the girls don't know if they are going to be playing biological males or not.
'Some of the parents were so concerned they would not let their daughters play … It was so disheartening for them to see the huge difference in ability – they're killing it.'
On the Flying Bats' official website, they claim they are 'the biggest LGBTQIA+ women's and non-binary football club in the world'.
Club president Jennifer Peden told Daily Mail Australia: 'As a club, the Flying Bats FC stand strongly for inclusion, and pride ourselves on safe, respectful and fair play, the promotion of a supportive community for LGBTQIA+ players, officials and supporters, and the significant physical, social and mental health benefits that participation in sport brings, especially to marginalised members of the LGBTQIA+ community. We are a club that values our cisgender and transgender players equally.
'We strongly support the Australian Human Rights Commission’s guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport.
The Flying Bats won the Beryl Ackroyd Cup with ease, much to the fury of parents and coaches
'These guidelines, along with the Sex Discrimination Act, inform the gender inclusion policies of Football Australia, Football NSW, and the North West Sydney Football Association at the community, grassroots level at which we play.
'Trans women belong in the women’s competition because that is the gender with which they identify. Trans women have played with the club for at least 20 years, at levels ranging from beginner to skilled, just like our cis women players.
'Our players are graded on ability, and placed in the team that is most appropriate for their skill and experience level.'
John Ruddick, a Libertarian Party MP who has campaigned on the issue of retaining biological sex rights, also blasted the scenes in the North West Sydney League.
'It's not just a question of fair sportsmanship,' Mr Ruddick said. 'It's also a question of physical safety for female players born female.'
Binary Australia spokeswoman Kirralie Smith said:'North West Sydney Football and Football NSW continue to put girls at risk and create an unfair playing field.
NSW MP John Ruddick (pictured) raised the issue of player safety as he lashed out at the news
'Many teams are stressed about the situation.'
She also alleged that some teams were told not to complain or refuse to play else they would be fined and referred to Anti-Discrimination NSW.
A Football NSW spokesperson said the organisation takes'pride in being at the forefront of developing inclusive policies for the sport in Australia and operates within the existing legal framework, including anti-discrimination legislation'.
'Football NSW continues to align with Football Australia's adoption of the Australian Human Rights Commission's Guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport', under which, community players are permitted to participate in Football on the basis of the gender with which they identify,' the spokesperson said.
The Australian Sports Commission's statement on trans and gender diverse inclusion reads: 'All Australians should have the opportunity to be involved in sport and physical activity, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, ability, cultural background or ethnicity.
'It is important that sporting bodies, from local clubs through to national sporting organisations, reflect the diversity in the communities they are a part of, and that together, we ensure every person is treated with respect and dignity and protected from discrimination.'
