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The controversy surrounding the gender of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif continues to make headlines. On Wednesday, August 7, Oumayma Belahbib, a Moroccan boxer, filed a complaint for «electronic harassment», «insult», «death threats», and «defamation», according to a police source cited by the French newspaper Le Parisien.
Belahbib confirmed to the same newspaper that she has received numerous hate messages and threats on social media from users accusing her of orchestrating the controversy surrounding Imane Khelif.
Since the start of the Olympic Games in Paris, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif's gender identity has been a subject of intense public scrutiny. Many have accused her of being a «man» or «transgender» following her swift knockout of Italian rival Angela Carini during their fight on Thursday, August 1.
The controversy was further fueled by Khelif's disqualification from the World Boxing Organization (WBO) World Boxing Championships after a 2023 International Federation gender test. Khelif was found to have «high levels of testosterone», while Taiwan's Lin Yu Ting did not meet «eligibility criteria» after a biochemical test.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not recognize these tests and permitted both boxers to participate to the Paris Olympic Games. IOC spokesman Mark Adams confirmed on Friday that Imane Khelif was «born a woman, registered as a woman, and lives her life as a woman».
Cyber harassment : More than 200 hate messages daily
Belahbib, a 27-year-old Moroccan who resides in France and is also a member of the International Boxing Federation's athletes' committee, has reported receiving thousands of threatening and insulting messages on social media—«more than 200 per day»—since August 1, the day of the match between Khelif and Carini. She added that some of these messages included «violent content» featuring her identity and face.
Belahbib, who did not qualify for the Olympics, feels she is being used as a «scapegoat». She stated, «I am accused of being the cause of the conspiracy against Imane because I am her rival, because I am Moroccan, and because I am a member of the International Boxing Federation. It’s an issue between these two boxers (Khelif and Carini), and I’m in the middle. I didn’t receive any support», she lamented.
Chers confrères journalistes, faites quelques recherches et retournez aux sources pour vérifier pourquoi #ImaneKhelif a été exclue en 2023 ! Lorsque ceux qui occupent des postes clés mêlent politique et sport pour défendre leurs propres intérêts, comme le premier, membre de… https://t.co/bS8fC8ZsAb pic.twitter.com/lZ1Y6Vk8oH
— Hana Ghezzar Bouakkaz (@GhezzarHana) August 3, 2024
In addition to social media backlash, Algerian media outlets have published several incendiary articles against the Moroccan boxer. The newspaper Awras accused her, along with «other influential members of Moroccan nationality», of leading the «rabid campaign against Imane».
Algerian media have frequently blamed Morocco for every sporting failure in Algeria. According to the Algerian media website aljazair alyoum, «The executive office of the International Boxing Federation, which lacks international legitimacy, includes three Moroccan members: Nabil Hilmi, Abdeljawad Belhaj, and Oumayma Belahbib. This explains the significant attack on the Algerian champion and the smear campaign she has been subjected to».
However, the decision to exclude Khelif from the International Boxing Federation was made by a vote of the Board of Directors, in which the only Moroccan representative, Abdeljaouad Belhaj, abstained. Oumayma Belahbib was unable to vote as she was not a member of the Board.
The attempt to involve Moroccan figures in the controversy was contradicted by the Algerian representative to the United Nations, who intervened following a comment from the Russian representative to defend the Algerian boxer and denounce, without naming Russia, maneuvers that «serve a political agenda».
