'Very unfair!' Trans pool player branded 'selfish and entitled' after suing federation over ban: 'Must have a female category'

The ban by the federation follows Haynes's victory, which sparked widespread outrage after she and fellow transgender competitor Lucy Smith competed in the final - having beaten all biological women to the top spot.

Speaking to GB News, Yamauchi said Haynes taking legal action is "very unfair" against the federation, and declared that there must be a female category in the sport.

Yamauchi told GB News: "It's not slightly unfair, it's very unfair. Pool is a sex affected sport, which means that males have physical advantages compared to females, and therefore you must have a female-only category in order for females to take part and excel in this sport fairly.

"A female category is necessary - if you allow males into the female category, Harriet Haynes is male, then it ceases to be the female category and becomes a mixed sex category."

Highlighting the many physical advantages a biological male would have against a biological female in the sport, Yamauchi explained: "The physical advantages males have include they are on average taller, they have longer arms and legs, so they can reach across the table more easily.

"And they have more power, so they can get more power behind the break shot, which is the most important shot of the whole game."

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In a direct criticism of Haynes, Yamauchi claimed her decision to sue the federation is "entitled and selfish".

Yamauchi fumed: "This federation have done the right thing to say females only in the female category, but unfortunately this selfish, entitled man is suing them.

"I hope they win, and this case will be very important for the Equality Act, which allows single sex sport in sex affected sports, of which pool is one."

As host Jacob Rees-Mogg argued that the advantages for males in pool is only "slight" compared to more physical sports such as football, Yamauchi disagreed and declared no matter how small the advantage is, there should still be single-sex categories.

Yamauchi said: "Whether or not the sex differences in any particular sport are great or small, it doesn't really matter. If they exist, however small, then there must be a female category.

"What Harriet Haynes and his team are effectively calling for is the end of women's pool, and I wish they would stop arguing about gender reassignment discrimination and make the case for ending women's pool, which is what they want."

In a statement, Harriet Haynes said: "My success in pool in general is down to my efforts, whether in the women's section or open section, coaching helped me progress."

Haynes submitted expert evidence to support this case, including from an American professor who argues that "as long as a player could break above a certain speed, something achievable by both sexes, there was no inheritance vantage gained by higher Q velocity".