Italian boxer Angela Carini says she ‘wants to apologise’ to Imane Khelif, after her abandonment of her Olympic fight against the Algerian sparked a gender debate firestorm at the Paris Olympics.
Carini has gained widespread support from outraged sports fans after quitting her Olympics fight against Khelif – who was previously disqualified from the IBA’s world championships due to elevated levels of testosterone.
Carini took a punch to the face after 30 seconds and immediately went to her corner to have her headgear adjusted. She returned to the fight briefly before returning to her corner and conceding their quarterfinal of the 66kg division.
After Khelif was announced as victor, the Italian, who was in tears, refused to shake hands. She yelled “this is unjust”.
However, as debate continues to rage – with some adamant Khelif’s advanced physiology should make her ineligible to compete in the Games while others maintain she is and has always been a woman – Carini has reached out with an apology for inadvertently sparking the controversy.
“All this controversy makes me sad,” Carini told Italian media outlet Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC [International Olympic Committee] said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
The 25-year old expressed her sorrow at not shaking hands with Khelif after the fight, saying she was ‘angry’.
“It wasn’t something I intended to do,” Carini said of abandoning the fight.
“Actually, I want to apologise to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
However, Khelif’s next opponent, Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori, says she ‘doesn’t think it’s fair’ that the Algerian can compete.
“In my humble opinion, I don’t think it’s fair that this contestant can compete in the women’s category,” Hamori wrote on social media.
“But I cannot concern myself with that now. I cannot change it, it’s life.
“I can promise you one thing… I will do my best to win and I will fight as long as I can!”
The Hungarian Boxing Association, though, have been far less diplomatic, blasting Khelif’s eligibility as ‘unacceptable and outrageous’ urging the IOC to reconsider.
“I am very sad that there is a scandal and that we have to talk about a topic that is not compatible with sport,” HBA executive board member Lajos Berko said.
“This is unacceptable and outrageous.”
According to Berko, the HBA will write to ‘express our indignation and request that the IOC reconsider its decision, which allowed a competitor into the IOC competition system who was previously banned from the world championships’.
Reports from Hungarian media claim that the HBA are considering legally challenging Khelif’s ability to compete.
Khelif is one of two athletes who were cleared to compete in the women’s boxing in Paris despite having been disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships for failing to meet the eligibility criteria.
However, in a joint statement with the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit, the International Olympic Committee defended the decision to permit the 25-year old to compete, and condemned the ‘current aggression’ from fans.
SEE THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW
Having received a bye in the first round at the Olympics, Kehlif – who also competed three years ago in Tokyo – was warmly received by Algerians in the crowd at the Arena Paris Nord.
“I wasn’t able to finish the match, I felt a strong pain to my nose and I said [to myself] for the experience that I have and the maturity as a woman that I have, I said I hope my nation won’t take it badly, I hope my dad won’t take it badly – but I stopped, I said stop for myself,” Carini told BBC Sport.
“It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment.
“I didn’t have fear, I don’t fear the ring. I don’t fear taking the blows. But this time there’s an end for everything, and I put an end to this match, because I wasn’t able to [continue].”
The fight came after Algeria’s Olympic Committee condemned “baseless” attacks on Khelif while the IOC has cleared the Algerian and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who was stripped of a bronze medal at last year’s World Championships after failing a gender eligibility test. Lin fights at the Olympics on Friday.
The IOC had defended the decision to let the pair compete with a spokesman saying: “These athletes have competed many times before for many years, they haven’t just suddenly arrived – they competed in Tokyo.”
The International Boxing Association (IBA) said the pair were disqualified at the World Championships “to uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition”.
Australian boxer Marissa Williamson-Pohlman, who was in the same division but eliminated on Thursday, was asked by Nine if she would have issues stepping in the ring with Khelif.
“Obviously, at the moment it’s just speculation. Allegedly there has been DNA tests done that Imane is XY,” Williamson-Pohlman said.
“So if that’s the case then, [firstly], come forward with that and own up to it and, [secondly], the IOC should be stepping in because trying to make it fair for one person is making it unjust for so many more.”
She later added to media: “The way I like to explain it is if you have a disability.
“The natural consequence of having a disability is it’s unfortunate that you can’t compete and that’s another natural consequence of having this issue that you have to live your life with. You can’t put other people at risk.”
Khelif’s next opponent, Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori, said she welcomed the challenge.
“I’m not scared. I don’t care about the story on social,” Hamori said. “If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I will win. Yes. Let’s do it.”
Thursday’s incident caused outrage online.
The Italian PM also weighed into the debate.
“It is a fact that with the levels of testosterone present in the blood of the Algerian athlete the race at the start does not seem fair,”said Italian premier Giorgia Meloni.
“We must be careful, in an attempt not to discriminate, to discriminate.
“The fact that Angela withdrew makes me even more sad,’ she continued. ‘I was emotional yesterday when she wrote ‘I will fight’ because in these things dedication, head and character also count. But it also counts to on equal terms.
“This, from my point of view, was not a competition on equal terms.”
THE IOC STATEMENT
Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.
All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU) (please find all applicable rules here). As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.”
These rules also applied during the qualification period, including the boxing tournaments of the 2023 European Games, Asian Games, Pan American Games and Pacific Games, the ad hoc 2023 African qualifying tournament in Dakar (SEN) and two world qualifying tournaments held in Busto Arsizio (ITA) and Bangkok (THA) in 2024, which involved a total of 1,471 different boxers from 172 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the Boxing Refugee Team and Individual Neutral Athletes, and featured over 2,000 qualification bouts.
The PBU used the Tokyo 2020 boxing rules as a baseline to develop its regulations for Paris 2024. This was to minimise the impact on athletes’ preparations and guarantee consistency between Olympic Games. These Tokyo 2020 rules were based on the post-Rio 2016 rules, which were in place before the suspension of the boxing International Federation by the IOC in 2019 and the subsequent withdrawal of its recognition in 2023.
We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.
These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process.
According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO. The IBA Board only ratified it afterwards and only subsequently requested that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA Regulations. The minutes also say that the IBA should “establish a clear procedure on gender testing”.
The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.
Such an approach is contrary to good governance.
Eligibility rules should not be changed during ongoing competition, and any rule change must follow appropriate processes and should be based on scientific evidence.
The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.
The IBA’s recognition was withdrawn by the IOC in 2023 following its suspension in 2019. The withdrawal of recognition was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). See the IOC’s statement following the ruling.
The IOC has made it clear that it needs National Boxing Federations to reach a consensus around a new International Federation in order for boxing to be included on the sports programme of the Olympic Games LA28.”