Imane Khelif is indeed an Olympic champion. She won gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The rumor that spread about her removal from her title, launched by a Moroccan newspaper, was very quickly denied.
This new campaign was expected since the Algerian athlete visited the Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf.
The fake news was widely shared on social networks. Moroccan sports newspaper Al Mountakhab claimed that after a hormone test, the Algerian boxer was banned from boxing for life and stripped of her Olympic title and a $25 million bonus.
Imane Khelif won the Olympic title in the -66 kg category on August 9 in Paris, at the end of a global smear campaign accusing her of being transgender.
Did Imane Khelif lose her Olympic title? USA Today investigated
Despite the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Algerian athlete was attacked in particular by former American President Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her deputy Matteo Salvini, billionaire Elon Musk, British writer JK Rowling…
As the American newspaper USA Today points out, which carried out a fact-check, it is abnormal that such crucial information concerning a high-profile personality is not reported by any source. credible ». However, there is nothing of the sort coming from the IOC, the World Boxing Organization or even a credible media outlet.
“There are no credible reports supporting the news claim that Khelif was banned from boxing and stripped of her medals. There is no evidence of such an announcement from the World Boxing Organization. There is no evidence that she ever received, let alone lost, a $25 million reward.”writes the major American media.
Moroccan media rumor about Imane Khelif formally denied
“There is no evidence to support the claim”adds the newspaper which emphasizes that the social network users who created the publication “ link to an article that repeats this claim but provides no supporting evidence”.
The source article refers to the World Boxing Organization, but it has not announced anything of the sort on its website or social media accounts.
The boxer herself did not mention anything on her Instagram account.
The assertion was formally denied by the Algerian Olympic Committee (COA). On its Facebook page, the COA first recalled that it no longer has any link with the International Amateur Boxing Association (IBA), which had disqualified Imène Khelif from the 2023 world championships.
The Algerian Olympic Committee denounces fake news
“The Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee, like all other national Olympic committees in the world, received a letter from the International Olympic Committee reminding it not to deal with the unrecognized International Boxing Association (IBA). In this regard, Algeria has already withdrawn from the unrecognized federation some time ago and joined the World Boxing Organization (WBO)”wrote the Algerian body.
Regarding the alleged removal of Imane Khelif from her title, the COA described it as “ fake news » has ” the obvious origin ».
“We reassure the Algerian public that all false news about Algerian boxing in general and champion Imane Khelif in particular, are baseless and have no connection with the International Olympic Committee. It is simply a systematic campaign against Algeria, emanating from an obvious source to parasitize the astonishing success of the Olympic champion and Algeria’s membership in the World Boxing Organization which is the new legitimate authority »explained the Algerian Olympic committee.
