Piers Morgan leads outrage after two transgender players contest final of women's pool competition - as Sharron Davies labels event 'grossly wrong in every way'

Piers Morgan has slammed the Ultimate Pool Group aft 2 transgender women contested the last of a nonrecreational women's lawsuit successful Wigan connected Sunday night, calling the concern 'preposterous' and accusing the athletics of 'cheating bulls***'.

The broadcaster's comments came aft Harriet Haynes defeated Lucy Smith 8-6 successful the last of a Women's Pro Series event, 1 of 8 events connected the Ultimate Pool Group's 2025 women's circuit.

Both players are transgender, resulting successful a question of disapproval connected societal media - astir notably from erstwhile Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, who described the lawsuit arsenic 'b****y ridiculous and grossly incorrect successful each way' and said sports 'hate their pistillate players to bash this'.

Sharing an X station from Reduxx Magazine, which claimed 'two men' were facing each different 'for a women's title title', Morgan added: 'Why anyone supports this cheating bulls*** is utterly beyond me.'

The tournament, held astatine Robin Park Leisure Centre successful Wigan, was streamed unrecorded connected UltimatePool.tv and crossed societal media.

Haynes' way to the rubric included victories implicit Megan Proctor and Mary Talbot, portion Smith reached the last by knocking retired Kirsty-Lee Davies and Danielle Randle.

This is not the archetypal clip Haynes has been astatine the centre of controversy.

In November 2023, she was handed a walkover triumph successful the Women's Champion of Champions last successful Prestatyn aft hostile Lynne Pinches refused to play, citing fairness concerns.

Pinches aboriginal told TalkTV: 'Whenever you play a transgender player, adjacent if you win, it doesn't marque immoderate quality due to the fact that successful your heart, you cognize it's unfair.

'This is simply a class advantage, being biologically antheral and playing against females, gives you a wide class advantage.

'Every clip I play a transgender player, I deliberation astir it before, during and aft the match, astir however unfair it is and however this is simply a level I can't reach.

'I ticker immoderate of the shots they play, and I deliberation females don't play these shots down the rails similar this and they don't wide up similar this. They person a longer reach, a batch of them are taller than us.

'Women person been silenced due to the fact that of fearfulness of being transphobic, that is wherefore radical don't talk retired astir this subject. It's not a sex issue, this is simply a fairness issue.'

The incidental astatine Prestatyn, which saw Pinches forfeit the lucifer aft the opening lag shot, drew planetary headlines and provoked fierce debate.

Haynes aboriginal revealed she was inundated with maltreatment online, describing it arsenic a 'cess-pool of awfulness' and saying: 'It was unreal… horrific. A batch of vile abuse.'

Haynes, who transitioned implicit a decennary ago, has repeatedly defended her close to vie successful the women's category.

'Trans women are not a menace to pool,' she told the BBC. 'We're not coming implicit successful droves… there's thing to fear.'

Governing bodies person struggled to settee connected a accordant policy. In August 2023, the World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) and Ultimate Pool Group issued a connection saying 'only people calved women would beryllium eligible' to vie successful the women's series, but that ruling was aboriginal reversed.

The WEPF aboriginal clarified: 'Providing regulatory conditions are met… transgender and non-binary players volition beryllium capable to enactment successful the women's series.'

That U-turn disappointed players similar Pinches, but Haynes defended the change, insisting she would measurement distant from women's excavation if determination was wide grounds of an unfair advantage: 'If the rules were changing and determination was categoric grounds that I had a monolithic vantage implicit idiosyncratic else, I would stop. But determination isn't.'

The adjacent Women's Pro Series events volition instrumentality spot successful May astatine the location of Bolton Wanderers.