Olympics controversy: ‘Men don’t belong in women’s sports,’ internet fumes at Imane Khelif’s victory over Angela Carini

Khelif’s name was already shrouded in contention in the headlines. Moreover, the internet fumed that the Algerian player is one of two boxers who was cleared to fight at the Olympics despite being disqualified from the 2023 women’s world championships for failing testosterone and gender eligibility tests.

Carini broke down in tears after being hit twice in the face by Khelif, leaving blood on her shorts. Retreating to her corner, she yelled, “This is unjust”, as the 66 kg contest was called off. Eventually, the referee raised Khelif’s hand as the winner of the bout.

In a post-game interview, Carini told the reporters through tears, “I’ve never taken a punch like that, it’s impossible to continue. I’m nobody to say it’s illegal” The 25-year-old boxer from Naples added that she’d gone into the ring to honour her father.” 

“I got into the ring to fight. I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I’m going out with my head held high.” 

“After the second punch, after years of experience, I felt a strong pain in the nose. I said enough, because I didn’t want. I couldn’t finish the fight after the punch to the nose. So it was better to put an end to it.”

Also read | JK Rowling, former world champions tear into Olympics over ‘sickenin’ decision on two boxers: ‘It’s shocking’

Carini’s coach, Emanuel Renzini, also highlighted that she had been warned not to enter the ring. “Many people in Italy tried to call and tell her: ‘Don’t go, please. It’s a man, it’s dangerous for you.”

Meanwhile, Khelif briefly told BBC, “I am here for gold. I will fight anybody, I will fight them all.”

IBA releases official statement 

Ahead of the Thursday match, the International Boxing Association released an official statement regarding the previous disqualification of Imane Khelif (and Lin Yu-ting) in the wake of their participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics. “On 24 March 2023, IBA disqualified athletes Lin Yu-ting and Imane Khelif from the IBAWomen’ss World Boxing Championships New Delhi 2023. This disqualification was a result of their failure to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition, as set and laid out in the IBA Regulations,” IBA said.

The boxing association emphasised that the athletes”did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test, whereby the specifics remain confidential. Its result indicated that they did “not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.”

Khelif initially appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but later withdrew it, making the IBA decision legally binding.

The decision to allow them to participate in the Olympics ultimately fell to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IBA urged interested parties to seek answers from the IOC about permitting“athletes with competitive advantages to compete.”

On the other hand, IOC claimed: “I would just say that everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports.”

Both the IOC and the Russian-led IBA have been entangled in a years-long dispute over alleged failures of governance and integrity, the New York Post reported. 

Internet reacts to Imane Khelif competing in the women’s category and seemingly “breaking” Angela Carini’s nose during the match

As the news of Carini withdrawing from the match 46 minutes in came to the forefront, outraged netizens unleashed their fury on social media.

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Ahead of the match, JK Rowling took to her X/Twitter profile and condemned the green light. “What will it take to end this insanity? A female boxer left with life-altering injuries? A female boxer killed?”

Former American collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines’ tweet also went viral. She wrote, “Men don’t belong in women’s sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini.” Within about three hours of it going live on X, the post gained over 48 million views. Rowling and Tesla boss Elon Musk were some of the most prominent public figures who reposted it. They chimed in with the heated debate of keeping “biologically male” athletes away from “women’s sports.”

After the match, Rowling again hopped on her page and furiously typed: “A young female boxer has just had everything she’s worked and trained for snatched away because you allowed a male to get in the ring with her. You’re a disgrace, your ‘safeguarding’ is a joke and #Paris24 will be forever tarnished by the brutal injustice done to Carini.”

Smashing the keyboard, she wrote in a following post, “Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered. #Paris2024” The Harry Potter author shared a snap of Carini’s distraught response to what had transpired at the Olympics while Khelif appears to be patting her on the back.

Many other comments under Musk’s retweet chimed in with the aggressive discourse.

Someone wrote: “Women’s athletes should refuse compete on these terms 😒” Another replied: “Biological men should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports!!”

American actor Matthew Marsden directly spoke to Musk, commenting, “Elon…fund an alternative tournament effective immediately where all the female boxers in the tournament quit in protest, but fight for the medals outside of the Olympics. Have @danawhite put it together. Then, everyone would know who the real medalists are.”

American influencer and pro wrestler Logan Paul was yet another celebrity to pitch in and label the Olympic moment “the purest form of evil.”

“This is the purest form of evil unfolding right before your eyes. A man was allowed to beat up a woman on a global stage, crushing her life’s dream while fighting for her deceased father. This delusion must end,” he wrote on X.

Several others quipped how “South Park” had yet again become a reality. The 2019 “Board Girls” episode from the popular satirical show illustrated a local strongwoman competition, which also saw a new trans athlete named Heather Swanson competing in the match. The character is eventually revealed to be a robust, brawny, bearded person who supposedly started identifying as a woman only two weeks ago. As the competition proceeds, Swanson easily takes the lead while savagely battering his opponent in the ring.