Linzi Smith - Banned and spied on for my beliefs
Linzi Smith - Banned and spied on for my beliefs
This case is raising funds for its stretch target. Your pledge will be collected within the next 24-48 hours (and it only takes two minutes to pledge!)
Latest: March 1, 2025
Report from Northumbria Police
Hi everyone
First, I’d like to say a huge thank you to all of you for your very generous donations. These have been immensely helpful in allowing me to continue my legal fight against NUFC and t…
Read moreI am Linzi Smith, a member of the Free Speech Union, an LGB advocate and a lifelong supporter of Newcastle United. I was banned from my football club and subjected to a sinister private investigation because I believe that biological sex is important and real. This is my story.
Newcastle United
On 31 October 2023 I received an email from Newcastle United. Expecting to hear something about a football game, I was horrified to find that the club had suspended my membership pending the outcome of a police investigation into a possible hate crime. This was a massive shock. I have never been in trouble with the police and had no idea that I was the subject of a police investigation.
I endured a few frantic days trying to find out what was going on. Worse was to come: the police interviewed me about comments I had posted on X (formerly Twitter). They asked me if I thought my comments were ‘offensive’. The police soon realised that no crime had been committed and I was told that no further action would be taken. It was an enormously stressful ordeal.
Relieved, I assumed that Newcastle would lift my suspension and I could put the whole sorry affair behind me. I was wrong. Despite my pleas and a strongly worded letter from the Free Speech Union, on 17 November 2023 I was banned from the club for three seasons because of comments I had made online.
The X posts
The club cited three posts on X as evidence of alleged discrimination. The comments were controversial – some may even have found them offensive – but they were lawful and didn’t concern Newcastle or football in any way.
One post responded to Mermaids’ announcement that it was leaving X. I expressed my honestly held belief that Mermaids sought to promote gender affirmation in schools in a manner that runs counter to NHS advice and overrides safeguarding. I consider this to be a form of grooming and said as much.
The second post expressed my enormous frustration at biological males who insist on participating in female sports despite the unfair advantage that it gives them and the hugely detrimental impact that it has on women’s sport.
The final post came during a lengthy exchange with an individual who accused me of being a ‘Nazi’. I asked whether they realised that gender reassignment surgery can be linked to Nazis such as Dr Mengele who performed experimental sex change operations on concentration camp inmates.
I express my views strongly and sometimes clumsily but never in a threatening or abusive way. In turn I receive a lot of hateful and abusive messages online, but never reciprocate. I was therefore devastated by the club’s decision. I couldn’t understand why they chose to ban me as my comments on X were not in any way related to the club or directed at anyone connected to the club. I had simply expressed my gender critical beliefs honestly and lawfully. I didn’t even know who had complained about me or what they had said about me.
Targeted by the Premier League
At this point, events turned sinister. A data subject access request to the club revealed a confidential report called the “Online Investigation and Target Profile” created by the Premier League. The report contained details of my posts on X and far, far more. The Premier League pried into who I am and where I live. They even gathered images of the places where I walk my dog.
I was extremely disturbed. I could see no reason for them to intrude so deeply into my private life. What’s more, it had been going on for four months before I found out about it. As early as July 2023, Newcastle had taken an interest in my social media activity, after receiving a single complaint about my posts on X. Rather than dismiss the complaint on the basis that my legally protected philosophical beliefs were nothing to do with club, Newcastle instead instructed the Premier League to covertly research me.
The Premier League didn’t just produce the Online Investigation and Target Profile. They also provided Newcastle with guidance on “exploring options for restorative education”.
When I appealed Newcastle’s decision to ban me they doubled down and upheld their original decision.
Legal action
With the help of the Free Speech Union, I am commencing legal action against both Newcastle United FC and the Premier League. Following advice from specialist counsel, I have instructed Levins Solicitors to write to both organisations under the relevant pre-action protocol setting out my claims against them, including the following:
- under the Data Protection Act 2018, unlawful processing by both organisations of my personal data, including special category personal data concerning my philosophical beliefs and sexual orientation;
- under the Equality Act 2010, less favourable treatment of me by both organisations because of my protected philosophical belief in the reality of sex, and/or instructing, causing, inducing or aiding contravention of the Equality Act.
I am asking for your help at this stage with two aspects. First, funds to cover the drafting of a letter before action to both organisations. Second, funds to help to pay for insurance in the event that they don’t back down, so that I can take them to court without fear of being bankrupted if I lose and am ordered to pay their costs.
I hope that any eventual claim can be funded under a conditional fee agreement. It may be, however, that I need to raise further funds in the future. I will keep supporters updated as the case progresses.
As you can imagine, this is a David and Goliath situation as both organisations are well funded and will have strong legal representation.
The funds raised through this campaign will go towards funding my legal fees incurred in bringing proceedings. Helping me bring a successful legal action will make these organisations think twice before they engage in this type of Orwellian behaviour again.
Any unused funds will be put towards other important gender critical related campaigns.
Media links
My case has already been covered in the media extensively:
- 'Football fan banned over gender-critical posts after ‘Stasi’ Premier League investigation' Telegraph
- 'Why have Newcastle United cancelled a fan for ‘wrongthink’? Spectator
- 'My political views have nothing to do with you': Newcastle United fan who was banned from matches until 2026 'for her trans views' reveals Premier League compiled 'Stasi' dossier about her where she was called 'the target' Daily Mail Online
- https://youtu.be/zBghrEgYs8I
- https://youtu.be/daNVoKgrd3k
Be a promoter
Your share on Facebook could raise £26 for the case
I'll share on Facebook
Free Speech Union
March 1, 2025
Report from Northumbria Police
Hi everyone
First, I’d like to say a huge thank you to all of you for your very generous donations. These have been immensely helpful in allowing me to continue my legal fight against NUFC and the Premier League. As it’s been some time since I last updated you, I’d like to give you a run-down of the latest developments in my case, which include a very significant report from the Professional Standards Department of Northumbria Police.
Filing of a legal claim
In May of last year, my solicitor filed a legal claim against Newcastle United Football Club (NUFC) for discrimination and breach of contract. I received NUFC’s defence last November and unsurprisingly, NUFC denied all of my claims, asserting that my posts were “offensive and unwanted to (at least) Trans persons”, that they “constituted harassment” and that they “were inappropriate or inconsistent with NUFC’s values which adopt a zero tolerance approach to discrimination”. NUDC emphasised that the stated purpose of their Equality Policy was the “creation of a truly inclusive environment for everyone involved with the Club”.
I am working on bringing a claim against NUFC and the Premier League for breach of the Data Protection Act 2018 and I’ll provide an update on this aspect as soon as there are further developments.
Allocation Hearing
On 29 January 2025 my barrister attended an allocation hearing where the judge allocated my claim to the multi-track and estimated that the length of my trial would be two days.
Next Steps
The next stage of my claim will be a case management hearing where the judge will set directions on the steps needed to be taken by the parties to prepare for the final hearing. This will include disclosure where each party will be required to provide to the other party all of the evidence that it holds in connection with the case whether it’s helpful to that party or not. I await with interest the evidence that NUFC will disclose to me during this phase.
Northumbria Police Report
As you may know, I lodged a complaint against Northumbria Police about their treatment of me when I was coerced into attending the police station for a voluntary interview under caution and threatened with arrest if I didn’t attend or left early. Having carried out an investigation, Northumbria Police finally issued a report to me which concluded that the Police should not have required me to attend the police station or interviewed me under caution as I had not committed a crime and this should have been established at an early stage in the investigation.
More details about the report can be found here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/01/gender-critical-trans-police-investigation-newcastle-united/
The report is very valuable not just because it vindicates my position that I should never have been subjected to this process in the first place but also because it sheds light on the collusion between NUFC and Northumbria Police. Unbeknownst to be at the time, the person who complained about me to NUFC and who reported me to the police was closely connected to NUFC and NUFC worked directly with the police to ensure that that individual’s report against me was investigated as a hate crime.
These revelations make me even more determined to pursue my case and ensure that NUFC is held to account for putting me through such an ordeal and is prevented from exposing others to a similar experience.
It’s now more important than ever that I raise the necessary funds to pursue my claim. My solicitors are working on a conditional fee (‘no win, no fee’) agreement, but that still leaves me at risk of having to pay NUFC’s legal costs if I lose the case. I have therefore had to increase my stretch target to cover this potential liability and other legal costs.
Thank you again for your donations and your continued support.
Linzi
Free Speech Union
April 29, 2024
Letters before action have been sent to Newcastle United and the Premier League
Thank you all very much for your support so far. It is really appreciated. My solicitor has now sent letters before action to Newcastle United and the Premier League. These letters set out the basis of my legal claims against these organisations. I am required to do this before I can commence legal action against them. They have one month to respond. I will post another update once these have been received. For the latest story on this, see https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/27/newcastle-united-sued-fan-banned-gender-critical-tweets/
Recent contributions