“From my point of view, this was not an equal competition,” Meloni told reporters Thursday. “I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not participate in women’s competitions. Not because we want to discriminate against anyone, but to protect the rights of female athletes to compete on equal terms.”
Carini pulled out after Khalif’s second punch due to severe pain in her nose. After the speaker announced Khalif’s victory, Carini refused to shake hands with her rival. In her grief, she fell to the ground on stage and began to cry. Pictures of her began to circulate on social media.
“We are all with you,” the Italian national team wrote on X. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called it a “truly un-Olympic scene.”
“Shame on the bureaucrats who allowed a match that was obviously not on equal terms,”
Author J.K. Rowling, a regular contributor to gender culture wars, also weighed in, writing to the organizing team: “You’re a disgrace, your ‘safeguarding’ is a joke and #Paris24 will be forever tarnished by the brutal injustice done to Carini.”
Khelif was previously disqualified from the International Boxing Association World Championships for failing a testosterone level test. But the International Olympic Committee cleared her to compete in women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics.
