UK Culture Secetary Lisa Nandy says Imane Khelif and Andrea Cassini’s Olympics boxing bout was “an incredibly uncomfortable watch” as the row over gender in sport continues.
Algerian boxer Khelif won after just 48 seconds after Cassini withdrew following a punch in the nose she described as the hardest she’d ever been punched.
Khelif has been disqualified at the 2023 World Championships for possessing increased levels of testosterone and failing a gender elibility test.
But the Algerian competitor and Lin Yu‑ting of Chinese Taipei, who failed the same test, have been allowed to take part in the Olympics due to the IOC following different rules.
“It was a very uncomfortable watch”
Sky’s @RobHarris spoke to culture secretary @lisanandy MP about the contentious Olympic boxing match between Imane Khelif and Angela Carini.
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Nandy acknowledged the need to “get the balance right” when it comes to female competitors but said “biological facts are far more complicated than is being presented on social media and in some of the speculation”.
The Labour secetary said: “I think as sporting bodies try to get that balance between inclusion, fairness and safety, there is a role for government to make sure that they’ve got the guidance and the framework and the support to make those decisions correctly.
“And it’s something that I’ll be talking to sporting bodies about over the coming weeks and months.”
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said Khelif “was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female and has a female passport”.
He added: “There has been some confusion that somehow it’s a man fighting a woman. This is just not the case scientifically.”
