The scandal-ridden International Boxing Federation (IBA) announced at the beginning of the week that it wants to take legal action against the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after Algeria's Imane Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-Ting were allowed to compete at the Olympic Games in Paris last summer.
They were excluded from competing in the World Championship 2023, as the federation claimed they did not pass a gender test. The IOC said the test was not valid and gave both boxers the green light for the Olympic Games – where both won gold.
"Baseless accusations"
Khelif has largely kept a low profile in the dispute, but now says in an Instagram post that "silence is no longer an option".
The IBA has "once again made baseless accusations that are false and offensive, and uses them to promote their own agenda", writes Khelif.
The Algerian emphasizes that she is no longer tied to IBA's competitions and that the IOC has severed all ties with the federation.
Khelif's team is now reviewing the situation and will "take all necessary legal action to ensure that my rights and principles of fair competition are upheld".
IOC: Smear campaign
The IOC responded on Tuesday to IBA's move: "It is just part of IBA's campaign against the IOC, which has been ongoing since IBA was expelled by the IOC".
In the summer of 2022, the IOC decided that IBA would not be allowed to organize Olympic qualifying and Olympic competitions in Paris 2024 due to how the federation is governed, including its financing and judging scandals.
