BBC pundit Matthew Pinsent blames IOC for the Paris Olympics boxing gender row

BBC pundit and Team GB alumni, Matthew Pinsent, who is married to CEO of Charlotte Tilbury beauty Demetra Pinsent, has blamed the International Olympics Committee (IOC) for a controversy over boxing competitor Imane Khelif.

The Algerian boxer and gold medalist was subjected to anti-trans abuse after winning a bout against Italy’s Angela Carini on 1 August.

Khelif, alongside Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting – neither of whom identify as transgender or intersex – became embroiled in a “transvestigation” row over failing to meet eligibility criteria at a 2023 World Championships, which the IOC have questioned the validity of.

The IOC reaffirmed several times that Khelif and Yu-ting both met eligibility requirements for the Paris Olympics this year.

In his own comment on the controversy, Pinsent said he believed the issues that the IOC faces are “quite sizable” following the ending of the Paris Olympics.

“Paris has been a huge success but there have been some very unfortunate headlines about boxing,” he said.

“The IOC, in a sense, asked for that as they have stepped in and said, ‘We don’t like the way boxing is being run, we are going to make the rules for the Olympics and the inclusion of Olympic athletes for the boxing’.

“It has been totally of their own creation because they can’t have equity and inclusion. It is so weird they allowed it to happen.”

Issues with the International Boxing Association

Pinsent’s statement failed to address the issues and problems surrounding the IBA, which led to the IOC breaking ties with them, and which go beyond “not liking the way boxing is being run.”

The Russia-led IBA has been suspended by the IOC since 2019 because of concerns over its finances, governance, ethics, refereeing and judging. The IOC has questioned the validity of the gender tests carried out by the IBA on both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams addressed the controversy earlier in the Olympics, saying that not only did both competitors comply with its eligibility requirements, but that it is “not a transgender issue.“

Following her gold medal win on Friday (9 August), Khelif reaffirmed that she deserves to compete regardless of what is being said about her.

“I am fully qualified to take part in this competition,” said 25-year-old Khelif. “I am a woman like any other woman.”I was born a woman. I have lived as a woman. I competed as a woman – there is no doubt about that.”

Despite this, Pincent argued that the IOC will have a “controversy to get over” regarding the competition.

“They can’t organise an event and say on the one hand ‘we are just organising the Olympics’ and then on the other hand diving into a sport and saying we are also going to write the rulebook for boxing for Paris, and that has been really unpleasant and unfortunate.”

PinkNews can confirm that the International Olympics Committee is, in fact, allowed to dictate the eligibility quota for the Paris Olympics.

Khelif added in a statement on the controversy that she was tired of the “bullying” she has received over her inclusion at the Olympics.

“My message to the whole world is that they should to commit to Olympic principles and they should avoid bullying,” she said to Somalia news outlet SNTV.

“It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”