Harry Potter author and prominent gender-identity critic JK Rowling has taken up the case against an Australian women's football team which has five transgender players - including one who scored six times in a 10-0 victory.
The Flying Bats team, which is based in north-west Sydney, made headlines last month when it was revealed they won a tournament with five trans soccer players, coming out on top in every game they played during the four-week competition.
They won the grand final of the Beryl Ackroyd Cup 4-0 after a dominant run that saw one trans player score six goals in a 10-0 victory. But the win sparked outrage from football fans and led to 20 female players quitting one team in protest.
And onWednesday, Rowling waded into the debate, reposting a story about the controversy to her 14 million followers on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The author has been a vocal critic of the transgender movement and has clashed with activists online over her staunch views - which led to an outcry for her to be investigated under Scotland's new hate crime rules.
Author JK Rowling (pictured) has reposted a story about an Australian women's football team so her 14 million Twitter followers are aware of the controversy
The Flying Bats women's team from Sydney (pictured) featured five trans players when they easily won a tournament earlier this year
READ MORE: New Scottish hate crime laws spark 3,000 reports in just one day but police rule out JK Rowling's ten online posts from prosecution - prompting trans newsreader India Willoughby to bemoan 'stardust in people's eyes'
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Rowling was referred to Scottish police for referring to a number oftransgenderwomen including campaigners, convicted prisoners and celebrities as 'men' in a range of tweets.
Scottish police later confirmed no action will be taken against the famed British writer after she challenged new hate legislation in the country with that flurry of messages.
Rowling defiantly dared police to investigate her for misgendering people under Scotland's controversial new hate crime laws.
In a string of sarcastic tweets, the Harry Potter author played chicken with the authorities naming the 10 trans women on x on April 1 and saying: 'The above tweets aren't women at all, but men, every last one of them'.
In one she referred to Isla Bryson - a convicted double rapist - as a 'lovely Scottish lass' who she urged her followers to respect. In another she dubbed Katie Dolatowski - a paedophile who assaulted children - a 'fragile flower'.
Despite her string of tweet, Police Scotland confirmed that Rowling would now be among those being investigated under the new legislation.
The force said her comments were 'not assessed to be criminal but the trans newsreader hit out against the writer for misgendering her online and including her alongside a list of transwomen, of whom many were convicted sex offenders.
But the revelation sparked outrage from transgender broadcaster India Willoughby, who accused officers of getting 'stardust in their eyes'.
Following the introduction of the new hate crime laws in Scotland, JK Rowling made a string of tweets about trans women
After Police Scotland confirmed it would not be taking action against the Harry Potter author she said she hopes 'every woman in Scotland' is treated in the same way
Trans newsreader India Willoughby accused Police Scotland of having 'star dust' in their eyes for failing to take action against JK Rowling over a string of tweets
Calling out the police's decision not to investigate Rowling, Willoughby said last night: 'It is as clear as day that these are hate posts. That's what is motivating her. What is it about JK Rowling?
'It's like people get stardust in their eyes and they can't comprehend that the person who wrote Harry Potter can possibly be bad or vindictive when she clearly is, there is a mountain of evidence out there.
'I am tired of saying these examples. If she was doing this about another minority - or if another person was doing the same thing - making lists including sex offenders and then putting black or Jewish people in, there would be uproar. Absolute outrage.'
The English broadcaster, 58, added it was 'grossly unfair' the author had not been investigated and questioned 'what protection' the new law had given her.
'If JK Rowling can wantingly misgender me, and the Scottish Police say that's fine,' she said.
'If she can put me in a list featuring rapists and predators and they say that's fine it's free speech what am I getting in the way of protection from Police Scotland?'
Protesters demonstrated outside the Scottish Parliament as the country's new Hate Crime Law came into effect on Monday
Rowling pictured at the premiere of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in 2018. She is not facing action from Police Scotland over tweets she shared about trans women
The Harry Potter author sarcastically posted a long thread on X/Twitter on transgender women as she criticised Scotland's new Hate Crime Act which came into force on April 1
It is not the first time that Willoughby has had a run in with the author. Last month Rowling was reported to Northumbria Police after calling Willoughby a 'man'. Police later said the complaint did not meet the criminal threshold.
Meanwhile, JK Rowling said she hoped all women would be treated equally under the new rules.
Ms Rowling welcomed the decision, saying: 'I hope every woman in Scotland who wishes to speak up for the reality and importance of biological sex will be reassured by this announcement and I trust that all women – irrespective of profile or financial means – will be treated equally under the law.'
She warned the police that she was ready to intervene if they pursued lower-profile women for making similar comments, adding: 'If they go after any woman for simply calling a man a man, I'll repeat that woman's words and they can charge us both at once.'
Ms Rowling added: 'In passing the Scottish Hate Crime Act, Scottish lawmakers seem to have placed higher value on the feelings of men performing their idea of femaleness, however misogynistically or opportunistically, than on the rights and freedoms of actual women and girls.
'The new legislation is wide open to abuse by activists who wish to silence those of us speaking out about the dangers of eliminating women's and girls' single-sex spaces, the nonsense made of crime data if violent and sexual assaults committed by men are recorded as female crimes, the grotesque unfairness of allowing males to compete in female sports, the injustice of women's jobs, honours and opportunities being taken by trans-identified men, and the reality and immutability of biological sex.
'For several years now, Scottish women have been pressured by their government and members of the police force to deny the evidence of their eyes and ears, repudiate biological facts and embrace a neo-religious concept of gender that is unprovable and untestable.
The hate crime bill, introduced on Monday, criminalises 'threatening or abusive behaviour' intended to stir up hatred against someone's identity
Rowling is a noted gender identity critic whose posts on social media frequently feature stories around transgender issues and her often controversial takes on them
'The re-definition of 'woman' to include every man who declares himself one has already had serious consequences for women's and girls' rights and safety in Scotland, with the strongest impact felt, as ever, by the most vulnerable, including female prisoners and rape survivors.
'It is impossible to accurately describe or tackle the reality of violence and sexual violence committed against women and girls, or address the current assault on women's and girls' rights, unless we are allowed to call a man a man.'
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which came into effect on Monday,aims to protect a number of characteristics from abuse under the law, including age, disability, sexual orientation, transgender identity and those with variations in sex characteristics, such as intersex people.
But Rowling continued: 'Freedom of speech and belief are at an end in Scotland if the accurate description of biological sex is deemed criminal.
'I'm currently out of the country, but if what I've written here qualifies as an offence under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment.'
She signed it off with the hashtag #arrestme.
People hold up signs as they protestoutside the Scottish Parliament on Monday as the new legislation came into effect
SNP MP Joanna Cherry said: 'Pleased to see my good friend JK Rowling exercise her rights to freedom of speech and freedom of belief by tweeting in defence of women's rights'
As the 58-year-old's comments whipped up a social media storm, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak entered the row, saying: 'People should not be criminalised for stating simple facts on biology.
'We believe in free speech in this country, and Conservatives will always protect it.'
Ms Rowling's comments came after Siobhian Brown, the SNP's minister for community safety, said those who misgender others online, calling a trans woman 'he', for example, 'could be investigated' by police.
Following her latest critique of the transgender community, Rowling's followers voiced their dismay at the news about the Flying Bats as they commented on her repost.
Furious parents have withdrawn their daughters from games in the team's competition due to safety concerns, claiming players were unaware that they had signed up to compete against biological males.
Club officials have also contacted governing body Football NSW to express their concerns, with some insisting that the Flying Bats should play in the mixed competition, which includes men.
'Our girls are here to play for fun and expect to play in the female competition. They did not sign up for a mixed competition,' a senior club official told the Daily Telegraph.
'There's no transparency from Football NSW, the girls don't know if they are going to be playing biological males or not.'
On the Flying Bats' official website, they claim they are 'the biggest LGBTQIA+ women's and non-binary football club in the world'.
Club president Jennifer Peden told Daily Mail Australia: 'As a club, the Flying Bats FC stand strongly for inclusion, and pride ourselves on safe, respectful and fair play, the promotion of a supportive community for LGBTQIA+ players, officials and supporters, and the significant physical, social and mental health benefits that participation in sport brings, especially to marginalised members of the LGBTQIA+ community. We are a club that values our cisgender and transgender players equally.
'We strongly support the Australian Human Rights Commission’s guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport.
In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, the Flying Bats revealed the team 'stands strongly for inclusion' and has been fielding trans players 'for at least 20 years'
'These guidelines, along with the Sex Discrimination Act, inform the gender inclusion policies of Football Australia, Football NSW, and the North West Sydney Football Association at the community, grassroots level at which we play.
'Trans women belong in the women’s competition because that is the gender with which they identify. Trans women have played with the club for at least 20 years, at levels ranging from beginner to skilled, just like our cis women players.
'Our players are graded on ability, and placed in the team that is most appropriate for their skill and experience level.'
John Ruddick, a Libertarian Party MP who has campaigned on the issue of retaining biological sex rights, also blasted the scenes in the North West Sydney League.
'It's not just a question of fair sportsmanship,' Mr Ruddick said. 'It's also a question of physical safety for female players born female.'
Binary Australia spokeswoman Kirralie Smith said: 'North West Sydney Football and Football NSW continue to put girls at risk and create an unfair playing field.'
A Football NSW spokesperson said the organisation takes 'pride in being at the forefront of developing inclusive policies for the sport in Australia and operates within the existing legal framework, including anti-discrimination legislation'.
NSW Libertarian politician John Ruddick (pictured) claimed the 'physical safety' of opposition players was at risk when they played the Flying Bats
'Football NSW continues to align with Football Australia's adoption of the Australian Human Rights Commission's Guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport', under which, community players are permitted to participate in Football on the basis of the gender with which they identify,' the spokesperson said.
The Australian Sports Commission's statement on trans and gender diverse inclusion reads: 'All Australians should have the opportunity to be involved in sport and physical activity, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, ability, cultural background or ethnicity.
'It is important that sporting bodies, from local clubs through to national sporting organisations, reflect the diversity in the communities they are a part of, and that together, we ensure every person is treated with respect and dignity and protected from discrimination.'