Bearded players help women’s soccer team win, eliciting outrage
They’re not even trying to hide it.
Two “bearded guys” who are actually women transitioning to men helped their team win a Spanish women’s soccer match over the weekend, sparking…
They’re not even trying to hide it.
Two “bearded guys” who are actually women transitioning to men helped their team win a Spanish women’s soccer match over the weekend, sparking outrage, the New York Post reported.
Alex Alcaide Llanos and Nil Alcon Labella of Club Esportiu Europa prevailed 3-1 over Terrassa in a Catalan women’s league match, Marca reported, with Llanos scoring one of the winning goals.
Alicia Tomas, a conservative local councilor who represents the area reacted strongly on X.
“Our girls from the @TerrassaFC, they lost against Europa because among their rivals there were two bearded guys who now consider themselves women,” Tomas said in a translated post.
“Decades of struggle to have our place in sport, only for the perverse gender ideology to want to erase our presence. We are governed by sick people.”
Both players are currently banned from playing in the men’s league because they haven’t finished their medical transitions, the Post reported.
Llanos has been undergoing hormone treatment for at least five years, according to local reports. “It wasn’t immediately clear when Nil Alcon Labella began his transition,” the paper reported.
The Club blamed the outrage on trans hate, issuing the following statement:
“In light of the violence perpetrated against two of the players from the women’s reserve team, we at Club Esportiu Europa say no to transphobic and LGBTIphobic violence and to any type of violence.
“Throughout its century-long history, our club has stood out for its values of sportsmanship, fair play and compliance with current sporting regulations. It also works and fights for the right of all people to live lives free from all forms of violence. Lives that deserve to be lived.
“Combating hate crimes and transphobic violence is a collective duty that challenges all of society. We therefore reiterate and say loudly that we remain firm. Against aggression and fascism, we say ‘not one step back.’”
The issue of athletes with high amounts of male hormones competing as women took center stage during the Paris Olympics this summer, as two boxers who tested as biological males took gold in women’s boxing. Both Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan identify as women.
Llanos uses male pronouns and has addressed his transition in past interviews, telling the Beteve outlet in 2022, “as long as my ID card still has the F for female, I’m playing in the category that corresponds to me.”
“I started the transition of my body early; it hasn’t changed that much. I’ve always had this male body, and hormones help me to build muscle sooner, not to build more muscle. The moment I feel superior, with advantages, I’ll quit. I’ll step aside.”
But Irene Aguilar, an international sports lawyer, commented on X that the better solution would be for Llanos to find a men’s team that plays at a lower level, rather than continuing in the women’s league.
Transgender athletes are also part of the U.S. political debate, with Donald Trump pledging to keep men out of women’s sports if elected.