Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has found herself amidst a bullying and hate campaign after she advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s 66kg event, with right-wing figures and transphobes questioning her gender and eligibility to compete at the Olympics.
The attacks kicked off after Khelif, 25, was declared the winner of her bout on Thursday, after her competitor, Italy’s Angela Carini, decided to abandon the match after 46 seconds.
Carini was seen in tears after the match was over, and refused to shake Khelif’s hand after. The Italian boxer claimed that she could no longer continue after she took a punch on her nose, which resulted in some bloodying.
Instead of being able to celebrate her win, Khelif suddenly became the target of an intersection of vitriol, racism, transphobia and disinformation concerning her gender identity.
Khelif has been accused of being transgender, biologically male and intersex, despite no evidence or proof of such.
Many have claimed that Khelif has X and Y chromosomes and or high levels of testosterone. The latter is likely based on Khelif being disqualified from the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships last year, for “failing a testosterone level test,” though no details were revealed on what the gender tests consisted of. The circumstances of her disqualification were also deemed “unusual” at the time. Another boxer, Taiwanese Lin Yu Ting, was disqualified on similar grounds.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling fanned the flames of the debacle, accusing Khelif, of “being a man protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head” in a post on X.
Over the years, Rowling has been criticised for her controversial views on transgender people, even pushing Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson to distance themselves from her views.
A flurry of right-wing to far-right social media accounts took to the X platform to throw more baseless accusations at Khelif, with posts amassing millions of likes.
Among those were X owner and Tesla founder Elon Musk, who replied “absolutely” to a post by swimmer Riley Gaines who said “Men don’t belong in women’s sports”.
British broadcaster Piers Morgan involved himself, publishing an article in UK tabloid The Sun accusing the boxer of “not being a biological woman”, calling her win against Carini “a sickening sight”.
Italian politicians also weighed in. Italian populist deputy PM Matteo Salvini called Khelif’s victory “truly an-Olympic scene”.
“Shame on the bureaucrats who allowed a match that was obviously not on equal terms,” he said.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, also a right-wing and conservative politician, said the win was “unfair”, and questioned Khelif’s right to compete at the Olympics.
It was later revealed that Carini is a police officer in Italy, and activists have criticised her for “cosying up to the far-right” after meeting and speaking with the likes of Meloni.
