Female darts players threatened with disciplinary action for refusing to play transgender rivals
Crackdown has been condemned by those campaigning for trans women to be banned from female-only sport competitions
Noa-Lynn van Leuven/Female darts players threatened with disciplinary action for refusing to play transgender rivals
Female darts players have been threatened with disciplinary action if they refuse to play transgender opponents.
Almost four months after a British female player forfeited a match against a trans woman at a World Darts Federation event, the governing body has begun a controversial crackdown on such protests.
Ahead of announcing the provisional fields for this year’s World Championship, the WDF said in a statement: “The WDF wishes to clarify its position on player withdrawals.
“Once the first dart has been thrown in a tournament, any player that subsequently withdraws from playing a match may be considered to be bringing the game into disrepute and could face disciplinary action.
“This stance has been taken to suitably protect our member countries, their tournaments and tournament sponsors, as well as to preserve the integrity of the WDF ranking system.”
Deta Hedman in action/Female darts players threatened with disciplinary action for refusing to play transgender rivals
Deta Hedman, who has twice refused to play transender opponents, feels darts’ ruling body is targeting her specifically Credit: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images
The statement was issued barely a month after Deta Hedman, who pulled out of her Denmark Open quarter-final against Noa-Lynn van Leuven in May, withdrew from a second competition upon learning she would face another trans opponent.
Hedman, a three-time WDF World Championship finalist, told Telegraph Sport: “When that statement went out, I felt it was aimed at me.”
Explaining she had pulled out of May’s match against Van Leuven over the effect that being forced to play a trans woman had on her “mental health”, she added: “It’s been affecting me for a very, very long time. And, when it did happen, I just broke down. I was a mess, an absolute mess.”
Hedman, who has launched a petition against darts’ current gender participation policy, accused the WDF of putting the mental welfare of trans women ahead of those born female.
“They haven’t shown any regard for the mental health of anyone female-born at all,” she said. “It’s all about the mental health of transgender women.
“They have not once come to us ladies and asked how we are feeling about it. We’re having to stand up to say, ‘This is how we feel’.”
The WDF’s crackdown was also condemned by Lynne Pinches, the pool player who last year forfeited the chance to win a top national title after refusing to play a trans opponent.
Pinches said some of those running her sport had initially threatened disciplinary action against competitors refusing to play trans women, before backing down.
In response to the WDF announcement, she posted on X: “Punishing women for conceding a match to protect their own mental health is nothing short of disgusting. They will be disciplined so they behave like good girls.”
Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at human rights charity Sex Matters, said: “As if it’s not bad enough that women face unfairness, they’re being forced to play or lose their future chances as well. They lose twice over. It shouldn’t be left to women to take a stand, but if they do, they will be punished. Some people say, ‘Why don’t women refuse to play?’ This is why.”
Van Leuven, who has divided her sport since joining the women’s circuit after beginning transitioning in 2022, made headlines in March after winning two Professional Darts Corporation titles – the PDC Women’s Series in Wigan and a PDC Tour event in Hildesheim, Germany.
Hedman has previously called on the PDC and the WDF to exclude trans women from female tournaments. She wrote on X: “I wouldn’t play a man in a ladies’ event.”
In a message to the Save Women’s Sport campaign group, she added: “This subject [is] causing much angst in the sport I love. People can be whoever they want in life but I don’t think biological-born men should compete in women’s sport.”
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