FA in Pride court fight over 'gender politics' in football

Lucy Johnston
Wed, 08 Apr 2026 23:01:02 +0000

Football chiefs are facing a fresh legal storm following a high court bid to stop “the spread of gender politics” across the sport.

Newcastle United supporter Lindsey Smith is threatening legal action against The Football Association - in a row that could become one of the biggest culture clashes sport has seen.

Her legal team has issued a pre-action legal letter over its backing of a controversial new LGBTQ+ campaign, Premier League’s “Premier League with Pride”.

The campaign - rolled out across top-flight matches earlier this year - saw stadiums flooded with rainbow and Progress Pride symbols, splashed across LED boards, handshake boards and even substitution signage.

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Her legal team has sent a 'pre-action’ letter warning judicial review proceedings will follow unless the FA accepts the campaign is political or explains its decision-making.

This is the second time Lindsey Smith has challenged the FA.

In 2025, she brought a case over its support for the Stonewall-backed Rainbow Laces campaign, in which players wear vibrant rainbow-coloured laces and armbands to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports, particularly football.

The FA initially defended its position. But after a High Court ruling in 2025 - which found Pride activity should be considered political - it stepped back and said it had no plans to continue with Rainbow Laces in future seasons.

Ms Smith says that made the new campaign difficult to understand.

She said the FA’s earlier decision to withdraw support for rainbow laces raised questions about why a similar initiative had now been allowed.

To Ms Smith and her legal team, the FA appears to have dropped one Pride campaign at one end of the pitch only to allow another in through the back door.

“Given that The FA backed off on rainbow laces, I was shocked to find they’d approved this new ‘Premier League with Pride’ initiative,” she said.

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“With its Pride symbols and politically charged language, it’s essentially a rebranding of the rainbow laces campaign,” she added.

The campaign ran across Premier League matches earlier this year.

The Premier League says it is part of its wider inclusion work, alongside campaigns such as “No Room for Racism”.

But Ms Smith’s legal team argues there is a distinction, saying Pride itself is seeking legislative change and should therefore be treated as political.

At the centre of the challenge are rules requiring football authorities to remain neutral on political and religious matters.

The FA is responsible for ensuring those rules are followed. Ms Smith argues they are not being applied consistently.

“The rules governing The FA specifically state that for any players and staff under its jurisdiction, religious and political messaging is off-limits,” she said.

“The frustration is they don’t seem to think these rules apply to them.”

She also raised concerns about how players are treated.

“When I see players, on the one hand, threatened with sanctions for expressing their religious beliefs, and on the other, being pressured - for the sake of a political agenda - into wearing Pride clothing that conflicts with their faith, all I can see is hypocrisy and double standards,” she said.

“And I refuse to ignore it. In my view, it’s a red card.”

The campaign also includes education and training programmes.

Materials linked to it are used in schools through the Premier League’s Primary Stars scheme, which reaches thousands of pupils.

These cover inclusion, activism and LGBTQ+ awareness.

Supporters say this helps tackle discrimination.

Critics say it risks introducing contested ideas into football and education.

Law firm Conrathe Gardner LLP says it will bring proceedings in the High Court if the FA does not respond satisfactorily.

The Premier League has been notified as an interested party.

If the case goes ahead, it could have implications for football worldwide as it will determine how a national governing body applies the international FIFA and UEFA rules on its own turf.

The Football Association declined to comment on the legal action.