A veteran player agent and safety campaigner behind the concussion fight against the AFL says allowing trans and gender diverse players to compete in women’s footy is “beyond comprehension”.

Peter Jess has warned the AFL that allowing post-pubescent biological males to compete against women is “not safe” and will increase the likelihood of serious concussions.

It comes after the AFL approved a biological male who identifies as female – reportedly standing at 188cm and weighing more than 90kg – to play in South Australia’s community footy league, angering local clubs, female players and the league itself.

Trans women and non-binary people competing in women’s sport has become a firestorm issue across Australia, including in soccer and netball leagues in Victoria.

While critics flag safety concerns and unfair advantages, pro-trans rights groups argue that including trans and non-binary people in sport improves mental health outcomes.

As revealed by the Sunday Herald Sun, Football Victoria has been accused of ignoring concerns raised about a transgender player who won a top goal scorer award.

Now, Mr Jess, who has managed hundreds of AFL and VFL players, is sounding the safety alarm, telling the Herald Sun allowing biological males to play against those born female in collision sports “cannot be considered safe at any level”.

“AFL/AFLW is inherently dangerous to participants for brain traumas that create a broad spectrum of diseases neurologically,” Mr Jess said.

“The research and medicine has consistently confirmed that biological women are more at risk from collision to brain trauma and orthopaedic injuries than men.

“To now introduce post-pubescent biological men into the mix will only increase the risk of injury from collisions for biological women.”

Mr Jess has been fighting for years for better safety precautions on the field to prevent more head knocks.

In 2018, he warned concussion in female footy players would lead to “an intergenerational nightmare” caused by mothers not being able to remember their children’s names.

Since then, at least four women – Heather Anderson, Jacinda Barclay, Maggie Varcoe and Elizabeth Memos – have died after suffering concussions while playing footy.

The AFL was met with fury this month after ruling transgender player Freya Golding could take to the field in Adelaide Footy League women’s competition. The decision came despite three separate clubs lodging formal duty-of-care complaints.

“I’m not the biggest and tallest player going around and by no means am I a dominant player. I’ve had some good moments, but it’s rare I get in the best players,” Golding told 9 NEWS.

Adelaide Footy League chief executive John Kernahan, who has publicly slammed the AFL for failing to listen to the concerns of female players and coaches, said the league was considering its options.

“The AFL has seemingly and conveniently made this about discrimination which is an easy default position to land on when they’ve mistakenly assessed this incorrectly,” he said.

An AFL spokesman said under its gender policy for community football those deemed to not pose an “unacceptable safety risk” were generally permitted to play.

He said the policy was guided by state and federal anti-discrimination laws.

“The AFL is committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all members of the football community and continuously works with leagues and relevant stakeholders to ensure competitions are conducted in line with applicable rules, policies and processes,” he said.