The Premier League has been accused of promoting gender ideology in a legal threat to this year’s Pride campaign brought against the FA. The Telegraph has more.

The English top flight dropped its partnership with Stonewall and its Rainbow Laces campaign last year, but is accused of bringing politics into football again through the “Premier League with Pride” initiative.

Lindsey Smith, a Newcastle supporter, intends to bring a case against the Football Association, which she says should have disciplined the Premier League because the campaign contains political messaging.

Drawing on a High Court ruling which found that the 2024 Northern Pride event “strongly supports gender ideology”, and that Northumbria Police breached their duty of impartiality by participating in it, Smith is challenging the FA’s inaction.

A statement from Conrathe Gardner, Smith’s legal representatives, said: “The Premier League asserts on its website that Premier League with Pride is akin to its other initiatives such as ‘No Room for Racism’ and ‘More than a Game’. This is not the case, since neither of those initiatives is focused on social policy change.

“Neither of them is political. Pride itself has social policy objectives including, for example, enabling people to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate and the legal rights which go with it, simply by professing another gender identity. Pride also campaigns for access to female sports and female-only spaces by biological men who profess female gender identities. Fifa and Uefa rules, to which the FA is subject, prohibit political messaging.

“Our client is of the view that, just as it would be wrong for the LED messages beamed around the stadium to promote messages such as, ‘Vote Labour’ or ‘Vote Reform’, so it is also wrong for Premier League stadiums to be filled with symbolism.”

“Premier League with Pride” was timed to coincide with LGBTQ+ History Month and described as “an annual match takeover”. Richard Masters, the league’s Chief Executive, said that it “demonstrates our ongoing support for the LGBTQ+ community, and our commitment to ensuring that football is for everyone and inclusivity is embedded across all areas of the game”.

Smith’s representatives also say that the Premier League provided teaching materials for primary school children in “gender ideology and its required language”. They specifically highlight a document as part of the league’s Primary Stars’ programme which they say suggested: “Pupils with ‘uncomfortable, discriminatory or extremist views’ in the context of these discussions based in gender ideology are to be challenged and, sometimes, reported to safeguarding staff.”

Read More: Premier League’s Pride Campaign Triggers Legal Complaint Over Promoting Gender Ideology