A number of international celebrities have spoken out in response to an AFL decision to let a transgender Adelaide Footy League player compete in the women’s competition.

Transgender Westminster Old Scholars player Freya Golding has been cleared to play amid three separate clubs lodging formal duty of care complaints, after the AFL’s Gender Diversity Policy Committee ruled it was not satisfied that Golding’s participation in the AdFL gave rise to unacceptable safety risks.

British actor and comedian John Cleese, known for his roles in television show Faulty Towers and with the Monty Python comedy group, vented his displeasure at the decision, describing the situation as “pure madness” on social media.

Retired Czech-American tennis player Martina Navratilova also voiced her disapproval, writing “Australia is really messed up when it comes to women’s rights”.

A round five incident involving Golding delivering an off-ball hit to an opponent, among other incidents throughout the year, motivated three separate clubs to lodge the complaints out of concern for player safety.

It is understood Golding previously competed in the senior men’s competition but does not identify as male and is eligible to compete under the AFL’s Gender Diversity Policy, which says self-ID is the only requirement at the community level.

This differs to the AFL’s policy for its own women’s competition, which requires a transgender player to have strictly low testosterone levels to be eligible.

Adelaide Footy League (AdFL) chief John Kernahan said he was disappointed with the outcome.

“Our disappointment does not arise because the AFL reached a different conclusion than our own, it arises because we are no longer convinced the AFL was ever capable of reaching another one,” Kernahan said.

“The AFL drafted the policy, the AFL promoted the policy, the AFL appointed the committee to oversee the policy, the AFL assessed the evidence of the policy and ultimately the AFL delivered the verdict on the policy … in other words, the AFL marked its own homework.”

The AFL Gender Diversity Policy Committee has the final say regarding a player’s eligibility within the policy to compete in local competitions.

Kernahan said the AdFL supported the concerns of its clubs on the matter.

“Whether the AFL agrees with our assessment is ultimately a matter for the AFL … how we convey the concerns of our clubs is a matter for us and on that score, we remain entirely comfortable and take some comfort our clubs have recognised that.”

Stephanie Bastiaan, head of advocacy at Women’s Forum Australia, an independent organisation that campaigns on issues affecting women and girls, raised concerns about the issue on X, drawing international attention.

“Our position is that male born-players shouldn’t be in women’s sports full stop,”

Bastiaan, 35, said.

Cleese’s and Navratilova’s comments on social media came in response to Bastiaan’s post.

An AFL spokesperson told this masthead the league was “committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all members of the football community.”

“The AFL considers all referrals to the AFL Community Gender Diversity Policy Committee in accordance with the AFL Gender Diversity Policy for Community Football and if a player does not pose an unacceptable safety risk they are generally permitted to continue participating in the competition,” they said.

Golding will not play again this year after Westminster OS was knocked out of finals by Mitcham over the weekend.

The Dragons utility kicked one goal on Saturday.

“I’m not the biggest and tallest player going around and by no means am I a dominant player. I’ve had some good moments but it’s rare I get in the best players,” Golding told 9NEWS.

“I just want to play the sport I love with a great group of people.”

It is understood the AFL has conceded a new risk assessment could be undertaken if new information comes to light which could impact the determination.

Westminster Old Scholars Football Club has been contacted by this masthead.