Juventus players and staff were involved in an awkward encounter at the White House on Wednesday when Donald Trump attempted to get them to enter into a debate on transgender women in sport.<\/p>\n
The Italian football giants are in the US for the Club World Cup<\/a>, and defeated Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates 5-0 at Washington DC\u2019s Audi Field hours after a selection of players, coaches and executives had been with Trump.<\/p>\n Members of the Juventus squad, which includes US internationals Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie, were lined up behind the president as he held forth on various topics.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was weird,\u201d Weah told reporters of the Oval Office visit after the game. \u201cI was caught by surprise, honestly, when he started talking politics, with Iran and everything. I was kind of like, I just want to play football \u2026 They just told us that we have to go, and I had no choice but to go. So I guess it was a cool experience, obviously being in the White House as a first time, it\u2019s always wonderful. But I\u2019m not one for the politics, so it wasn\u2019t that exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n At one point Trump, who in February signed an executive order<\/a> banning transgender participants from women\u2019s sports, turned around to ask the Juventus players and staff about their views on the subject.<\/p>\n \u201cCould a woman make your team, fellas,\u201d Trump asked the players<\/a>, who smiled nervously but did not offer a response.<\/p>\n When Trump asked the question again, Juventus\u2019s general manager, Damien Comolli, attempted to deflect the query. \u201cWe have a very good women\u2019s team,\u201d he said of Juventus Women<\/a>, who are the reigning Serie A champions.<\/p>\n \u201cBut they should be playing with women,\u201d said Trump as Comolli chose not to answer. \u201cHe\u2019s being very diplomatic,\u201d said Trump.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s comments come at a time when trans people are facing increasing hostility in the US. Earlier on Wednesday<\/a>, the US supreme court ruled that a Tennessee state law banning gender-affirming care for minors can stand. The ruling is a devastating loss for trans rights supporters in a case that could set a precedent for a stream of lawsuits involving the rights of transgender children.<\/p>\n Juventus\u2019s victory over Al Ain included two goals each from Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Concei\u00e7\u00e3o. Kolo Muani got his goals in the first half, Concei\u00e7\u00e3o scored either side of the interval and the Turkey forward Kenan Yildiz also found the net as Juventus dazzled the crowd with some mesmeric football.<\/p>\n![\"Soccer](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/b669eb6a7e8fb8d56c52550dfb73d24652e854b1\/56_78_3190_2294\/master\/3190.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none\" "\\"Soccer\\"")
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