Outrage as girls football match is stopped and child is accused of being a ‘boy’ because of her hair

A girls' football team have launched a campaign defending their right to have short hair after they were accused of being boys during a match.

Players from York Railway Institute (YRI) AFC girls u12s were left anxious and upset following an incident where a match was stopped because the rival team wanted to check they were actually girls.

YRI AFC players Camille Porhel and Flo Topham, both 11, have since spoken out about the incident.

Flo said: "I feel quite angry and sad when people think I am a boy, and I feel anxious about going to matches or tournaments.

"Yes it does upset me definitely because they are commenting on how I look, and I am a girl and I am just being me."

Camille, Flo and their team have since started a campaign defending girls' rights to have short hair (SWNS)

Camille added: "I get very annoyed because nobody can focus on what they are doing on the pitch but instead have to listen to the comments and it just makes the experience so unpleasant.

"It's the 21st century and people are still making remarks on girls' short hair."

So, the young footballers and their team have started 'Girls can have short hair. Get Over It,' a campaign to support young girls with short hair, wearing t-shirts bearing the slogan during pre-match warmups.

They hope the campaign will help other girls 'not feel alone' and discourage parents and coaches from rival teams from saying 'unkind things.'

Camille said: "I think it will help because it shows that you are not alone when people are being ignorant and you have support no matter how secluded you feel."

Her mum Aimée Little, 50, says it's 'crazy' that this is still an issue in 2025.

Mum Amiée couldn't believe this was still an issue (Getty stock photo)

Speaking about Camille and Flo, she said: "Both girls are just girls who want to play football and have short hair - they find it really bizarre that there would even be any fuss about it.

"It's like if you are a good footballer and you've got short hair, then you must be a boy - and that is really bizarre.

"They are playing, which is very courageous of them, but they are more anxious around playing football because of the abuse that they get from other parents and other coaches."

Aimée also spoke about the response they've had following a campaign on social media, saying: "The amount of responses we've had from our social media campaign is actually quite sad.

"It's everywhere in grassroots football - we aren't the only team to be experiencing this.

"So many people have said their daughter has experienced it or that they've experienced it, so I think we've touched on something much bigger.

"People don't even realise that this level of discrimination exists in girl's sport."