A professional pool player is pursuing a £30,000 discrimination claim against Ultimate Pool Group (UPG), alleging she was excluded from tournaments due to her opposition to transgender women participating in female categories. Lynne Pinches, 53, states the ban followed her stance on the issue, which included walking out of a national final against a transgender opponent.
Pinches claims that after her protest at the Ladies Champion of Champions tournament in 2023, where she conceded without playing, she was subsequently expelled from a venue while her son was competing. She alleges she was then banned from further events after questioning an organizer's report of the incident.
"I was banned because I challenged the reason I was removed, so they're saying it's my fault I'm banned," Pinches stated, according to reports. She is bringing her civil claim through the county court system, asserting the ban was discriminatory and motivated by her campaign for fairness in the sport.
UPG has refuted the allegations, stating that the proceedings are "both factually and legally misconceived" and that the case will be "vigorously defended." A representative for the organization indicated that many individuals with strong views on transgender players participate in their events and that Pinches' two friends involved in her original protest competed on their tour last year. The organization also stated that Pinches was removed from an event in Wigan for breaching filming rules, not for her views on trans players.
"We have a policy that you can't film without permission from UPG. That's because we have an agreement with a broadcaster, so you can't have people filming our events," a source from UPG explained. "This narrative that we are ostracising her for standing up for females and discrimination against her for stating her views is just total nonsense."
The dispute gained national attention in 2023 when Pinches conceded the Ladies Champion of Champions final against Harriet Haynes, a transgender opponent. Pinches stated her decision was in aid of "fairness," though Haynes later endorsed a statement calling the protest "regretful bigotry."
The legal action was reportedly triggered in April of the previous year when Pinches, attending a tournament in Wigan, Lancashire, to watch her son compete, was asked to stop recording with a bodycam. She claims she offered to remove the device, but was still expelled and later banned after questioning the organizer's report. She stated she was told the ban would be imposed unless she put her complaint in writing that the matter was closed.
This confrontation occurred weeks before transwomen were officially excluded from women's events in the sport, following a UK Supreme Court ruling defining women based on biological sex. UPG subsequently amended its eligibility rules to state that its women's events were "open only to biologically born women," citing a commissioned report that concluded eightball pool is a "gender-affected sport" where transgender women retain male advantages.
Pinches' legal case is being supported by over £25,000 in crowdfunding donations. She has incurred significant legal costs, including a £4,000 bill after unsuccessfully opposing an application by UPG for more time to prepare its defense, a motion UPG won.
UPG, in a statement, maintained that it and the International Eightball Pool Federation (IEPF) are "committed to equality for all" and have adopted a neutral stance on eligibility issues. The organization stated that the rules for women's competitions are directed by the Supreme Court decision and expert reports, and there is no causal link between these rules and Pinches' current claims. UPG reiterated that Pinches was removed from the Wigan event for filming rule violations and that her ban is unrelated to her stance on women-only competitions. The organization intends to defend the proceedings vigorously.