Why the participation of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif provokes controversy

The athlete was unable to compete in the final of the last world championships after failing an eligibility test. However, she was allowed to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic tournament on Thursday.

A withdrawal that will fuel the controversy. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif entered the competition in under 66 kg on Thursday, August 1, at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She won her round of 16 match against Italian Angela Carini, after the latter withdrew after a few minutes. A decision by the Italian, in tears in the middle of the boxing ring, while a controversy swelled before her match against the Algerian.

The confrontation between the two boxers was considered a “a slap in the face to the ethics of sport and the credibility of the Olympic Games”by Matteo Salvini, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers in Italy and former Minister of the Interior. The Italian far-right politician notably posted a message on X in which he protests that “the Algerian trans boxer” can participate in the Olympic Games even though she was “banned from world boxing championships”.

The Algerian boxer was ruled out of the World Championships in New Delhi, India, in March 2023, just before her gold medal fight after failing to meet the tests set by the International Boxing Association (IBA). A year later, she was allowed to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics because she meets “the eligibility rules”recalls the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The participation of transgender athletes in the Olympic Games is left to the discretion of the federations, which therefore set the rules. For boxing, they were established by another organization than that of the 2023 World Championships, the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU), because the IBA, chaired by the Russian Umar Kremlev, has not been recognized since June by the IOC due to poor governance.

Despite the criticism, the Italian Vice-President of the Council of Ministers has maintained his words. “Insults and threats for expressing an opinion that I believe is widespread among Italians: seeing a woman competing in the Olympics with a trans boxer is unacceptable madness, the result of the hypocrisy of political correctness”said Matteo Salvini, still on X.

These statements have caused an outcry in Algeria, where it is believed that the boxer has been subjected to a smear campaign, particularly on social networks. The Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee has condemned “firmly condemns the false propaganda and immoral behavior towards our champion, Imane Khelif, of some foreign media. Such attacks against her person are totally unethical, especially since she is preparing for the most important event of her sports career, namely the Olympic Games”.

The IOC, for its part, supported the Algerian boxer, as well as Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting. The latter was also allowed to compete in the featherweight category even though she had not “did not meet eligibility criteria after biochemical testing” at the World Cup, according to the IBA, and lost his bronze medal. “They are women in their sport, and it is established in this case that they are women.”explained IOC spokesman Mark Adams. “All competitors who participate in the Olympic Games follow and respect the eligibility rules”he added. These athletes have boxed repeatedly for several years”in the women’s categories, “They didn’t just arrive (…), they boxed in Tokyo“, recalled Mark Adams.

Imane Khelif, who represents a real chance of a medal for Algeria, will therefore be in the ring at the Olympics. Just before the Games, she declared to the Algerian newspaper Horizons to want “do everything to win an Olympic medal. My hope is to fly my country’s flag here in France”.