Controversy struck a Spanish women’s soccer team after two bearded players transitioning from female to male appeared in their last game.
One of those bearded players even scored the game-winning goal.
Club Esportiu Europa allowed Alex Alcaide Llanos and Nil Alcon Labella to play in a Catalan women’s league match against Terrassa last weekend, Marca reported.
Both players are banned from playing in the men’s league because they have not yet completed the medical transition process.
The participation of the transitioning players, as well as the fact that one of them, Llanos, scored the game-winning goal in Club Esportiu Europa’s 3-1 victory over Terrassa FC, prompted one local politician to speak out against what he saw as the unfair inclusion of two players who have both received a substantial amount of hormone therapy.
“Our girls from the @TerrassaFC, they lost against Europa because among their rivals there were two bearded guys who now consider themselves women,” Alicia Tomas, a conservative local councilor who reps the area, wrote on X.
“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.”
In a shocking twist, Europa defended its decision to include the transitioning players and blamed the outrage on trans hate.
“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,” the club said in a statement posted to X.
“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.”
The club added, “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.’”