Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach on Tuesday (Feb. 2) to raise the issue of the controversial inclusion of an athlete with the male trait XY chromosome in the Paris Olympics.
“The case of Imane Khalif (whose gender was in question) and the issue of rules to ensure fairness in sporting events were also addressed,” the prime minister’s office said, adding that “the Italian government will continue to be in contact with the IOC on how to deal with this issue.”
Earlier in the day, Italy’s Angela Carini was forced to retire just 46 seconds into her women’s 66-kilogram boxing round of 16 bout at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after being hit by two punches from Algeria’s Imane Khalif.
“I couldn’t continue because of the pain in my nose,” Carini said, adding, “I’ve fought many times against men, but I’ve never felt pain like this.”
The bout was controversial because her opponent, Khalif, has an XY chromosome.
Khalif has long been a top female boxer, but was disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) at last year’s world championships due to her XY chromosome.
Along with Khalif, Taiwan’s Lin Yuting was also disqualified from the event, but both were cleared by the IOC to compete at the Paris Games.
Following Khalif’s defeat, Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, the country of Karini’s birth, had congratulated her the day before, saying that “athletes with male genetic characteristics should not compete against women.”
This is why Meloni met with Bach on the same day.
He is currently in Paris, France, to cheer on his country’s athletes competing in the Paris Olympics after completing a five-day visit to China last month.
The meeting with Bach, which took place at a hotel in Paris where Meloni is staying, was also attended by Giovanni Malago, president of the Italian 토토사이트 추천 Olympic Committee (CONI).
However, the IOC reiterated that there was no problem with Khalif and Lin Yuting competing in Paris, Reuters reported.
The IOC said last year that the IBA’s disqualification decision was arbitrary and that the fact that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and Tesla CEO Elon Musk had spoken out against the two athletes’ participation in the Games was a major contributing factor to the controversy.
“Khalifa was born a woman, registered as a woman, boxed as a woman, and is a woman on her passport,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in a press conference, adding that “scientifically, this is not a man fighting a woman.”
“There’s been a tremendous amount of insults and misinformation online,” he said, adding, “We are in very close contact with the athletes (Keliff and Linwiting) and their staff.”
“It’s a minefield, and like all minefields, we wish there was a simple explanation, but there isn’t,” Adams said, referring to the fact that some sports limit the amount of testosterone allowed for female athletes and others ban athletes who have gone through male puberty from participating.
“If we can reach an agreement, we will be happy to implement it,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Office of the President defended its athlete Lin Yuting on Sunday, saying it was “unjust for her to be humiliated, insulted and verbally harassed simply because of her appearance and past controversial decisions.”