Iranian female footballers to face mandatory gender tests

Iranian female footballers will be getting random gender test now.

Players of the Iranian professional women’s football league will now be facing random, mandatory gender tests to verify their gender.

The Iranian Football Federation are taking this step as after seven people were disqualified after being found guilty of not being women, four of them being in women’s’ national team.

Players who had undergone sex change operation could still play in the league, Ahmad Hashemian, the Iranian football medical department chief revealed.

“If these people can solve their problems through surgery and be in a position to receive the necessary medical qualifications, they will then be able to participate in football,” he said.

This rule was introduced three years ago after a team raised their suspicions about an opposition goalkeeper’s gender.

Clubs will now be required to perform gender tests on players before signing them to contracts, and a failure in the test would mean disbarment for the player until they undergo medical procedure.