We should be talking about how we help everyone enjoy sport, but instead players are being targeted in a dehumanising way

The “hateful language” directed at Orlando Pride ’s Barbra Banda during their 2-0 defeat of Gotham FC last Sunday, understood to be transphobic and racist in nature, is part of an alarming trend, with several non-white athletes targeted for not fitting westernised standards of femininity.

The language directed at Banda from the stands was “directly addressed” by stadium security, said the hosts, Gotham FC, in a statement, and the situation was “monitored for the remainder of the match”.