Sutton United have released a statement amid controversy centred on a transgender goalkeeper.
On Sunday, their away game at Ebbsfleet in the London and South East Regional Women's League was called off after Sutton sent an email to their opponents at 11.12am informing them of their inability to field a team.
The postponement came a week after Sutton boss Lucy Clark - who is the first transgender manager in the top five tiers of women's football in England - signed 34-year-old transgender goalkeeper Blair Hamilton.
Hamilton - who previously played for the University of Aberdeen's men's football team while she was transitioning, before being encouraged to join the women's side - made her Sutton debut on August 25 in a 6-0 win over Haywards Heath Town.
However, the club did not announce her arrival until after that game. Following the announcement, a number of prominent figures lambasted the transfer.
Transgender goalkeeper Blair Hamilton recently joined Sutton United's women's team
Hamilton is pictured with team-mates at her former club Saltdean Women, from last season
Sutton United have since released statement offering their 'full support' to the goalkeeper
Now, Sutton have released a statement on their club website, which said: 'Following recent media reports regarding our women’s team and a recent player addition, the Board would like to take this opportunity to express our full support of Lucy Clark in her decision to recruit based on ability, character and commitment to the team —criteria that apply to all players and the values of Sutton United Football Club.
'We understand the sensitivity surrounding the issue of trans women in sports, and the club have followed all Football Association (FA) protocols and have confirmed that the player’s involvement is fully compliant with all legal and regulatory guidelines.
'We will continue to work with the FA and other relevant bodies to ensure that we remain in full compliance with all relevant regulations, and we will continue to support any player who represents our club with pride and integrity.
'Sutton United Football Club is committed to promoting a culture of inclusivity, respect, and fair play. We reject any form of discrimination, including that based on gender identity.
'The well-being and safety of all our players is of paramount importance to us and it was through an abundance of caution on this subject that the decision was made to postpone the match on Sunday. We will not tolerate any behaviour that undermines our values or puts anyone’s health or safety in jeopardy.
'Our primary focus remains on handling this situation with the utmost sensitivity and respect for the individuals involved, the club and the broader community, and we have set out our position in an update on the Club’s website'.
Sutton were due to play a game in the London & South East Regional Women's League on Sunday but it was called off less than three hours before its proposed kick-off time
Former Team GB swimmer Sharron Davies - who won an Olympic silver medal in 1980 - has previously made it clear that she is against trans women competing against cisgender women under the banner of women's sport.
Davies described Sutton signing Hamilton as 'shameful'.
She also claimed that she was sent a letter from football fans expressing their concerns.
The letter apparently read: 'We wish to be anonymous due to threats I know we will get. The women's team hired transgender [former] referee Lucy Clark with no previous experience in women's football.
'Now Clark has signed Hamilton, a 6ft, 34-year-old trans goalkeeper, and the female goalkeeper has been let go. The club need to be held accountable for pushing women out of women's football. It's disgusting.'
The club announced the postponement of the game with a short post on X (formerly Twitter). It simply read: 'Today's match against @EbbsfleetWomen has been postponed.'
Hamilton spoke to the BBC in 2019 when she said: 'I knew I was transgender since I was four. Growing up in the west coast of Scotland, I kind of tried to hide it a little bit.
Sutton Women are managed by former referee Lucy Clark, who is also transgender
'The University of Aberdeen's women's football team took me like under their wing and said "why don't you come and join us?" Which is something which I never actually thought was possible.'
At the time of her BBC interview, Hamilton had been undergoing hormone therapy for three years. 'They need to look at the science, what it actually does to your body,' she added.
'It does take away your muscle mass, your explosiveness. Your ratios from type-one to type-two fast-twitch fibres change - your body completely changes. I don't think they realise how much of a change hormone therapy makes.
'There is absolutely no advantage on the pitch.'