A teenage footballer who was sanctioned by the Football Association after questioning a transgender opponent's participation in a women's match has had her case dropped. Cerys Vaughan, who was 17 at the time of the incident, was initially handed a six-match ban after asking if a bearded player on the opposing team was a man during a friendly match in July 2024.
The case sparked controversy and protests outside Wembley Stadium by women's rights campaigners. In February, an FA appeal board found that Vaughan had received an "unfair" hearing and ordered a new process, but the case was subsequently dropped when the complainant withdrew.
Jill Levene from the Free Speech Union, who represented Vaughan, told GB News that the teenager received "no support" during the disciplinary process.
"It was a bit of a drawn out process for poor Cerys because she was told she had broken the rules through a hearing that took place and then she had to appeal that decision," Levene said.
Jill Levene shared her shocking account of the case on GB News
GB NEWS / PA
She revealed that no adjustments were made for Vaughan, who was diagnosed with autism and was still a minor at the time.
"At the time she was questioned she got very tearful and the tribunal decided not to continue with the hearing rather than provide some kind of adjustment for her to continue providing evidence and that was unfair," Levene explained.
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Levene joined Josh Howie on GB News
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According to the appeal board, there were "fundamental aspects" of the case that concerned them. They found that the commission had truncated Vaughan's evidence after she became upset during questioning, which "prevented her from completing her account."
The board also disagreed with the commission's finding that Vaughan had admitted the aggravated breach, noting "there appears to have been no consideration of her explanation."
"The original decision was considered to be unfair based on a procedural unfairness, a new hearing was actually due to take place but that was withdrawn when the main witness pulled out," Levene said.
The FA confirmed the case had been closed after "the complainant has chosen to withdraw from the process due to personal reasons."
The FA has since changed its policy, announcing in May 2025 that transgender women would be banned from women's football from 1 June, following a UK Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex.
Levene pointed out the timing of this decision: "Coincidentally, the Supreme Court ruling came out on the same day Cerys was told they were not going to pursue the matter further."
She added: "The FA said they won't be allowing biological males into female-only matches. If that had been the case in the first place, Cerys would not have found herself questioning why a bearded man was on the other team."
Vaughan has still not received an apology from the FA.
