Andrey Rublev hastily deleted a social media post in which he condemned the Olympics for allowing Imane Khelif to compete in the boxing event after her victory over Angela Carini.
The world No. 8 incorrectly claimed that the Algerian boxer was a “man who identifies himself as a woman” in a lengthy rant posted to Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday night, even though Khelif is a woman.
Rublev was inundated with replies calling him out for spreading misinformation and removed his statement in under an hour after sparking backlash.
It comes after Carini quickly ended their fight after just 45 seconds when she was punched in the nose. The Italian’s headgear came unattached and she decided to quit the bout. The controversy around Khelif is based around her disqualification from last year’s World Boxing Championships.
The International Boxing Association, which is no longer recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), claimed she failed testosterone and gender eligibility tests. Khelif competed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and was again allowed to participate in the women’s category in Paris.
Rublev lashed out at the Olympics for allowing the 25-year-old to compete, relaying false information in his statement. “People fighting against violence, against home violence, against violence towards woman, against kids violence, against all kind of violence,” the Russian wrote on social media.
“The way I grew up, since I was a kid, is that I was taught to protect women. No matter what the situation is with a woman, nothing can be worst for a man than hurting a woman physically. And now on the biggest and most important sporting event ‘Olympic Games’ we see live how a man who identifies as a woman is hitting a women (saying it’s equal rights boxing) and no one is stopping this.
“If a man would identify as a kid, would they let him compete on a kids boxing tournament? This is something I will never understand. I feel really sorry for the Italian athlete who was preparing for a long time for this moment.”
Khelif does not identify as transgender of intersex. She was born a biological woman, according to multiple reports, and is also designated as female on her Algerian passport. It’s understood that Khelif has Differences of Sexual Development (DSD) which can result in women seeing increased levels of testosterone and muscle mass while also having a skeletal advantage. Nevertheless, only five of Khelif’s 37 victories have come via a stoppage and at the Tokyo Games she was eliminated by Kellie Harrington in the quarter-final.
Rublev received backlash from those informing him that his claims that Khelif was a man were incorrect. He quickly deleted the post but screenshots have continued to circulate on social media. The 26-year-old has not issued an explanation for why he removed his statement. He is currently competing at the ATP 500 in Washington.
Khelif has received support from some of her peers, including Ireland’s Amy Broadhurst, who beat the Algerian in the 2022 Women’s World Championship. “Have a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif. Personally I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat’. I think it’s the way she was born & that’s out of her control. The fact that she has been beaten by 9 females before says it all,” she tweeted.
The IOC and the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit also released a joint statement. It read: “Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination. All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU).”
Express Sport have reached out to Andrey Rublev’s team for comment.
