Catalonian football is in uproar after two transgender players helped their team win a women’s match, sparking backlash from a councillor and a subsequent row.
But the situation is rather distinctive – these are two biological women attempting to transition to manhood who are still playing in a female league, as per Marca.
Alex Alcaide Llanos and Nil Alcon Labella play for CE Europa B in a Catalan women’s league and are still registered as female while undergoing medical transitions and are barred from men’s football.
After they started in the 3-1 win against Terrassa, with Alex scoring, a local councillor from the right-wing Vox party, Alicia Tomas, claimed they were ‘two guys with beards who consider themselves women’. Alex has now been taking hormones for over five years, as per Beteve, an outlet that once interviewed the player.
Europa have since hit back claiming their players are victims of ‘transphobic violence’ and have released a statement opposing ‘aggression and fascism’.
Debate has been sparked in Spain after two players born female played in a women’s match – despite undergoing transitions to manhood
Alex Alcaide Llanos has been taking hormones for five years and scored in the match
Local right-wing councillor Alicia Tomas claimed Europa are ‘inflicting violence on women’
‘As long as my ID card still has the F for female, I’m playing in the category that corresponds to me,’ Alex has said.
The striker added: ‘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.’
Some feel that moment has already arrived. One Terrassa fan tweeted from the stands: ‘There are two players in the Europa Femenino B who are unstoppable due to their speed and power.
‘It will be difficult to find players with more power and speed in the entire women’s preferential category.’
Controversy was sparked in 2022 when Europa won 23-0 with Alex playing, though the forward only scored twice. Europa have had a strong start to their season but are not dominating the league with the two players, sitting fifth after five games with 11 points.
After the match, councillor Alicia Tomas tweeted: ‘It is as unfair for men who perceive themselves as women to participate in a women’s competition as it is for women who are undergoing male hormone therapy to participate.
‘They want to erase us from public spaces, from sports and from all areas.
‘At VOX we are going to defend women and the struggle that our ancestors have waged for decades against the perverse gender ideology.’
Nil Alcon Labella also competed in the 3-1 win in a women’s league around Barcelona
Councillor Tomas initially hit out, writing that ‘there were two bearded guys who now consider themselves women’ – despite their transition being in the opposite direction
Europa hit back, writing: ‘We say no to transphobic and LGBTIphobic violence and to any type of violence’
Europa then hit back, writing: ‘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.
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‘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.’
On Europa’s website, the club displays rainbow flag colours next to a box which reads: ‘We say no (to): fascism, machismo (defined as ‘strong or aggressive masculine pride’), homophobia, racism.’
The spat continued with Tomas biting back: ‘You are the ones who inflict violence on women, who must compete on unequal terms with others who, due to their hormonal changes, have a considerable physical advantage.
‘We will not allow our athletes to be trampled on under the pretext of protecting a group. Competitiveness should be based on a level playing field, and this is not the case.’
This situation is nothing new for Europa. Two years ago, Alex gave a candid interview about being bullied at school and receiving a slew of hateful messages.
‘It was clear from an early age that I wanted to be a boy and that I wanted to be called Alex,’ the player told Beteve in 2022.
‘I felt very strange and when I was able to name him it was liberating. I started to be happy and able to live my life.’
Alex is still registered as female, with only the name on an official identification card changed. All Spanish nationals aged 14 or upwards are required to have the Documento Nacional de Identidad.
Questions have been asked as to why Alex is still playing in the B team of a women’s club.
As the team’s coordinator Nany Haces told El Debate in 2022: ‘There is a huge gap between our first team and our second team (the youth team) and every year we lose 10 players who we cannot accommodate in the first team.
‘It was necessary to set up a strong reserve team to compete and in a few years end up moving up a category.
‘Alex is developing as a player, he has obvious technical shortcomings, he is a fast player, but we have four or five more like him. He is not the fastest.’
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