Athletics Rules Cannot Be Applied to Football to Destroy a Woman Player’s Life

The Case of Ethiopian Women’s Football Star Mesay Temesgen: A Medical Decision or an Abuse of Authority?

by:- dagim Tekle

Mesay Temesgen, who played in the Ethiopian Women’s Premier League, reportedly became the subject of a sex-eligibility inquiry following a complaint submitted by a rival club.

At the time, doctors working with the federation examined Mesay and confirmed that she had female genitalia and female reproductive organs. Based on additional assessments conducted by specialist physicians, she was permitted to continue competing in the Women’s Premier League.

However, according to the player, a newly appointed federation doctor later compelled her to undergo another examination, telling her: “If you are not examined, you will not be allowed to play.”

Mesay says that after reviewing her hormone-test results, the doctor told her: “Unless you medically reduce your hormone level, you cannot compete in the women’s league.” She says she was subsequently prevented from playing.

If these allegations are true, this is not a matter that can simply be dismissed as an ordinary medical error. It raises serious questions about authority and accountability because the decision affects a player’s career, income, reputation, self-confidence and future.

FIFA Has Not Established a Numerical Testosterone Limit

The central issue is clear: FIFA has not publicly established a rule stating that a woman footballer is automatically ineligible if her naturally occurring testosterone exceeds a specific numerical level.

FIFA has had a framework for verifying sex eligibility. However, that framework does not require routine hormone testing of every woman player. When an eligibility question arises, it should be supported by sufficient grounds and evidence and handled by an authorized body through an appropriate medical process under strict confidentiality.

FIFA recognizes that sex and human development involve complex biological and psychological processes. A single hormone measurement, therefore, is not sufficient on its own to erase or invalidate a person’s identity as a woman.

World Athletics Regulations Are Not Football Regulations

World Athletics has introduced specific rules governing eligibility for the female category at different times.

Its 2018 regulations concerned certain differences of sex development, XY chromosomes, the body’s ability to use testosterone and participation in specified running events. Those regulations did not simply apply to every woman in every competition merely because her hormone level was described as “high.”

From September 1, 2025, World Athletics introduced revised female-category eligibility regulations that include an SRY-gene test. These are regulations created specifically for athletics. World Athletics rules do not automatically govern FIFA, CAF or the Ethiopian Women’s Premier League.

Directly applying a testosterone restriction originating in athletics to a football player would mean confusing two different sports and two separate regulatory systems.

Was this professional negligence, or was it a deliberate act? The Ethiopian Football Federation must provide a clear answer.

A Doctor Cannot Erase a Player’s Womanhood With a Pen

A doctor may conduct a medical examination and provide a professional opinion. However, one doctor should not have the power to end a player’s career without a written eligibility regulation, a properly qualified expert panel, due process and a meaningful right of appeal.

Moreover, imposing a condition such as, “Reduce your hormone level through medication or you cannot play,” raises serious concerns about bodily autonomy, informed medical consent and the player’s health.

Making medically unnecessary treatment a condition for continuing a sporting career would amount to coercion, not healthcare.

Naturally occurring high testosterone is not, by itself, doping. If an externally administered prohibited substance is detected, that matter must be handled under anti-doping rules through an accredited laboratory, B-sample procedures, a fair hearing and an appeal process.

Confusing sex eligibility with doping would constitute another serious professional error.

Was There a Personal Grudge or an Intention to Benefit Someone Else?

If Mesay had previously been examined and cleared by federation doctors, what new evidence justified overturning that earlier decision?

Which FIFA, CAF or EFF regulation was relied upon? From which football regulation was the alleged hormone threshold taken? Which authorized committee approved the decision? Was the player given an opportunity to appeal?

These are serious questions requiring answers.

If the decision was motivated by a personal grudge, retaliation or an intention to benefit another player or club, it would go beyond professional error and potentially amount to an abuse of authority. The matter should therefore be investigated by an independent body rather than solely through the federation’s internal structures.

The Ethiopian Football Federation Cannot Remain Silent

The Ethiopian Football Federation should not accept one doctor’s opinion as a final judgment and use it to end a player’s career.

The EFF must disclose to the player the applicable FIFA, CAF or federation eligibility regulation on which the decision was based.

The federation must immediately answer the following questions:

1. Under precisely which legal or regulatory provision was Mesay suspended?
2. If FIFA or CAF has established a numerical testosterone limit for women’s football, where has that rule been officially published?
3. If a World Athletics regulation was applied to football, what was the legal basis for doing so?
4. Was the decision made by one doctor or by an independent panel possessing the required authority and expertise?
5. Did the player receive her complete medical results, a written decision and information about her right to appeal?
6. How was her confidential medical information protected?
7. Who will be held accountable for the playing opportunities, income and career prospects she lost because of this decision?

The Player’s Rights Must Be Restored

Article 25 of the Ethiopian Constitution guarantees equality and protection from discrimination, including discrimination based on sex. Article 26 protects the right to privacy.

A player’s medical information is private. It must not be used to damage her reputation or publicly question her identity as a woman.

The EFF should appoint independent medical and legal experts to investigate the case, provide the player with the regulation and written decision used against her, and lift the suspension while her appeal is considered. If misconduct is established, those responsible should face appropriate legal and disciplinary proceedings.

A woman may naturally be born with hormone levels that differ from those of other women. That does not erase her womanhood, nor does it automatically make her a cheat or a user of prohibited substances.

The responsibility of a medical professional is to protect a player not to destroy her life by applying a regulation that does not govern her sport.

Mesay’s case is not only about one player. The federation must reveal the truth, identify the applicable rules and ensure accountability so that what allegedly happened to Mesay today is not repeated against another woman tomorrow.

Silence is no longer an acceptable response.