Transgender women will be barred from playing for women’s soccer teams in England as of June 1, the Football Association, the sport’s governing body in the country, said Thursday.

In a statement, the Football Association, known as the FA, said that it had changed its policy as a result of a Supreme Court ruling last month, which said that Britain’s equality laws were based on “biological sex” and that trans women did not fall within the legal definition of women.

The FA is the latest body to update its policies. All public and private groups in Britain must now incorporate the ruling into their policies over separate spaces and services for different sexes, such as bathrooms.

Its decision is part of a wider shift in global sports toward restricting trans women from taking part in women’s competitions, amid a fraught debate over gender, fairness and inclusiveness. In March, the World Athletics organization said it would require DNA sex tests for athletes competing in track and field, after banning trans athletes from women’s competitions in 2023. The world governing body for swimming, FINA (now World Aquatics), barred trans women from competing at the elite level in 2022.

The association said that the Supreme Court’s ruling required it to change, meaning that “transgender women will no longer be able to play in women’s football in England.” The ban covers amateur soccer and regional leagues that are governed by the FA, as well as the professional game.

“We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify, and we are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game,” the FA added.

Spurs, Man U on cusp of Europa League final

The rescue act is on for Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Big wins for both teams in the first legs of the Europa League semifinals kept alive their hopes of lifting a major trophy and qualifying for the Champions League.

Tottenham won 3-1 at home against Norwegian club Bodo/Glimt, while United beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 at the San Mames in Spain and.

Both United and Spurs have endured miserable domestic campaigns and are languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League. But European club soccer’s second-tier Europa League could yet see one of them salvage their season.

Not only is silverware on the line, but so is a route to the Champions League.

minor league baseball

Saints fall to Clippers’ rally in Columbus

St. Paul took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning at Columbus, but immediately coughed up the edge in the bottom of the frame en route to a 5-2 loss.

Back-to-back RBI singles from Carson McCusker and Mike Ford put the Saints up early, but the Clippers rallied with three runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back to improve to 14-14 on the season. St. Paul fell to 13-14 in the loss.

Gophers athletics

Swenson makes U.S. U21 volleyball team

Minnesota’s freshman volleyball setter Stella Swenson is one of the 18 players to make the roster of the U.S. Women’s U21 National Team who will train for the 2025 NORCECA U21 Pan American Cup, July 20–28, in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Swenson redshirted as a true freshman in 2024 but is expected to be the team’s starter in 2025.

Golfer Wetzel is Big Ten’s top sportsman

Minnesota junior men’s golfer Jack Wetzel has been awarded the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, the conference announced.

Wetzel, a native of Edina, appeared in six tournaments during the 2024-25 season. His best finish came at the Tommie Invitational during the fall season, where he finished tied for 15th.

NBA

Suns promote Gregory to general manager

The Phoenix Suns promoted Brian Gregory to general manager as part of a front office shakeup following one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history.

The team also said that former general manager James Jones will transition to the role of senior advisor. Oronde Taliaferro was promoted to assistant general manager and Paul Rivers will add basketball operations responsibilities to his role as chief innovation officer.

Kings remove interim tag from Christie

The Sacramento Kings announced they have hired Doug Christie as their full-time head coach following an interim stint that ended with a play-in tournament loss.

The Kings announced the hiring in the first major decision made since Scott Perry was hired after the season as general manager. Christie will be formally introduced at a news conference on Friday.

Christie took over the Kings after Mike Brown was fired in late December and posted a 27-24 record in his interim stint.

Sacramento made it into the play-in tournament as the ninth seed but lost its home game to Dallas.

Christie had previously played for the Kings and served as both an assistant coach and announcer.

NFL

Steelers sign Woods to one-year deal

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed wide receiver Robert Woods to a one-year deal.

The 33-year-old Woods has spent 12 years in the NFL, including the past two with the Houston Texans. Woods caught a career-low 20 passes for 203 yards in 15 games for the Texans last season.

Woods has caught 683 passes for 8,233 yards and 38 touchdowns across his career. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Los Angeles Rams after the 2021 season, though he missed the playoffs after tearing the ACL in his left knee in November of that year.

BRIEFLY

PGA >> Scottie Scheffler carded a 10-under 61 to take the first round lead at the Byron Nelson in McKinney, Tex.

— From news services