A Spanish women’s soccer club has sparked outrage after fielding two “bearded guys” who are transitioning from female to male — including one who scored one of the winning goals.
The transgender uproar exploded when the Club Esportiu Europa team fielded the two players — Alex Alcaide Llanos and Nil Alcon Labella — in a Catalan women’s league match against Terrassa over the weekend, Marca reported.
Both players, who took to the pitch with their facial hair clearly visible, are currently banned from playing in the men’s league because they have yet to complete their medical transitions.
Llanos has been undergoing hormone treatment for at least five years, according to local reports. It wasn’t immediately clear when Labella started transitioning.
After the Europa side secured a 3-1 win — including one goal scored by Llanos — a local lawmaker from the rival side quickly lashed out and blamed the loss on what she decried as an unfair advantage.
“Our girls from the @TerrassaFC, they lost against Europa because among their rivals there were two bearded guys who now consider themselves women,” Alicia Tomas, a conservative local councilor who reps the area, said in a translated post on X.
“Decades of struggle to have our place in sport, only for the perverse gender ideology to want to erase our presence. We are governed by sick people.”
The club quickly defended the move to field the players — and blamed trans hate for the outrage.
“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,” the club said in a statement.
“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.”
They added: “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’.”
Llanos, who goes by male pronouns, has addressed his transition in past interviews, telling the Beteve outlet in a 2022 interview that he had to play in whatever league his gender was registered for.
“As long as my ID card still has the F for female, I’m playing in the category that corresponds to me,” the striker said at the time.
“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.”
