Transgender former rugby player Caroline Layt said she was assaulted by her teammates nearly two decades ago, and now she fears a new generation of players are being punished for being themselves. The Australian decried rugby league’s world governing body after it announced a ban on Tuesday on transgender players in international fixtures while it undertakes research to finalise a new policy in 2023.

Layt played rugby before and after her transition, a three-year process involving hormones and finally surgery in 1998. She went on to play successfully in top women’s sides including representing New South Wales in rugby league, but her time in the sport was often tough. In 2005 people found out she was transgender, and perceptions of her changed. “I went from the penthouse to the outhouse,” said Layt.