Demands grow for IFA to 'show leadership' and ban male-born transgender players from women's teams in Northern Ireland
There are growing calls for the IFA to guarantee that trans-identifying males are kept out of women's football in Northern Ireland.
Two more MLAs have added their voices to the call, as has loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, in the wake of the English FA's decision to ban such people from playing on female teams.
It all comes in the wake of the UK Supreme Court judgement two weeks ago which ruled that, for the purposes of the 2010 Equality Act, the word "woman" means somebody who was born a woman, not someone who merely "identifies" as such.
The News Letter reported yesterday that DUP MP Carla Lockhart and the feminist group Women's Rights Network NI had said that the IFA should be following the example of the FA.
Now adding their voices are two of Ms Lockhart's colleagues in the Assembly: Joanne Bunting, and Jonathan Buckley.
Ms Bunting said: "I welcome this common sense decision by the FA and consider the IFA should quickly follow suit.
"They have a responsibility to ensure the safety of women and girls in what is a very physical game.
"Moreover there is an onus on them to preserve their changing, shower and toilet facilities as single sex, private spaces.
"As the governing body for football in Northern Ireland, the IFA needs to do the right thing for the thousands of women and girls who play football and show leadership on this issue."
Mr Buckley said: "This is the correct, common sense decision from the English FA.
"This policy should be extended to Northern Ireland without delay and adopted by the Irish FA to ensure consistency, integrity and equal opportunity for female athletes locally…
"The Irish FA should join the English FA, the Scottish FA, the England & Wales Cricket Board and England Netball and revise their policy accordingly."
He added that he wants communities minister Gordon Lyons to say "if he plans to engage with the Irish FA" on the issue.
And Mr Bryson, who formerly served as secretary of East Belfast FC, and who had previously challenged the IFA over its "unenforceable" anti-discrimination rules, said: "Going forward, in the light of the Supreme Court ruling the IFA plainly needs to follow the rest of the United Kingdom and that means biological sex should be the criteria for playing male or female categories at an adult level.
"At children’s level boys and girls of different biological sex play together in some leagues and that’s fine, but when it comes to teenage years the leagues divide into male and female and obviously that should be judged on basis of biological sex."
Asked to respond, the IFA re-iterated its line from the previous day: "We will review the judgment and interim guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
"We are committed to taking the necessary steps to fulfil our obligations under the Equality Act 2010, as clarified by this ruling."