The IBA (International Boxing Association) announced on Monday (10) a judicial offensive against the COI (International Olympic Committee). The entity led by Russian Umar Kremlev has promised to “file a complaint to Switzerland Attorney General”, Stefan Blätter, and prepare “similar complaints” to the Attorneys General of France and the United States.
The movement takes place in the context of the decree signed last week by US President Donald Trump, who excluded girls and transgender women from women’s sports. Feeling supported by the Executive Order of the Republican, the association resumed its war with the IOC.
The issue is linked to the participation of Algerian Imane Khelif and Taiwanese Lin Yu-Tting at the Paris Olympic Games last year. The two athletes, who took the gold medal in their respective categories, had been excluded from the 2023 World Cup of IBA, accused of “not meeting eligibility criteria,” based on testing of an independent laboratory without further details.
At no time has it been pointed out that Khelif and Lin are not women or have male genetic characteristics, but the subject has gained body during the 2024 games. Politicians and right-wing personalities attacked the IOC for authorizing them to participate in the main sporting event of world.
The IBA was excluded from the Olympic movement in 2019 and was no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee, which pointed to governance problems. Outside the Tokyo Games, held in 2021, and Paris Games, began to wage a battle with the maximum entity of international sport, now resumed.
“According to the Swiss law, any action or omission that represents a risk to participants’ safety in a competition deserves investigation and may serve as a basis for criminal action,” says IBA, justifying its new legal investment.
Specifically questioned about Imane Khelif, Coi said she “was born a woman, is registered as a woman, lives her life as a woman and a boxing struggle as a woman.” Neither Imana Khelif nor Lin Yu-Tut are transsexual women, but IBA says it remains “firmly, properly protecting boxers against unfair competition.”
