Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, says the Olympic boxing bout between Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Italy’s Angela Carini was “not an even contest”.

The bout was hugely controversial because Khelif has previously been barred from entering women’s boxing competitions owing to her male XY chromosomes. She was permitted to fight at the Olympics, however, because the IOC, which governs Olympic sports, does not follow the same rules. 

When Khelif met Carini in their first-round welterweight contest on Thursday morning the fight lasted just 46 seconds before Carini withdrew with a suspected broken nose. The fight has heightened the controversy about athletes with abnormally high testosterone levels or other male characteristics being allowed to compete in women’s sporting categories. 

Speaking after the bout, Meloni said: “I have been trying to explain for years that, when taken to the extreme, some theses risk impacting women’s rights.

“I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions. Not because we want to discriminate against anyone, but in order to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms”

The Italian leader added: “I regret it [Carini’s withdrawal] even more. I was emotional yesterday when she wrote ‘I will fight’ because the dedication, the head, the character, surely also play a role in these things.

“But then it also matters to be able to compete on equal grounds and from my point of view it was not an even contest.”

Carini: ‘One punch hurt too much’

Carini said that she abandoned the bout because she could tell after one punch that she was outpowered. 

“I got into the ring to fight,” said the 25-year-old from Naples. “I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much and so I said enough. “I’m going out with my head held high,” she added.

Her coach, Emanuele Renzini, stressed that quitting the match was not planned in advance. “It would have been easier not to show up, because all of Italy had been asking her not to fight for days,” Renzini said. 

“But Angela was motivated and wanted to do it. Of course when she met her opponent at the draw, she said ‘it’s not fair’. But there was no premeditation here today.

“She quit after taking one punch, she told me she didn’t feel she could fight. I tried to tell her to at least get to the end of the first round so we would fight, but she wouldn’t.”

Khelif is due to compete again in the quarter-finals on Saturday afternoon. Another boxer who has previously failed gender eligibility test, Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting, will make her Paris Olympics debut on Friday in the featherweight category.

‘Surprising there are no uniform criteria’

The participation of Khelif and Lin was controversial even before Thursday’s knockout. The captain of the Australian boxing team said it was “incredibly dangerous” while one of Khelif’s previous opponents said she was simply grateful she had escaped from the ring safely.

Italy’s family and equal opportunities minister Eugenia Roccella said: “It is of great concern to learn that two transgender people, men who identify as women, were admitted to women’s boxing competitions at the Olympic Games in Paris after having been excluded from recent competitions.

“It is surprising that there are no certain, strict, uniform criteria at the international level, and that there can be a suspicion, and far more than a suspicion, of an unfair and potentially dangerous contest for one of the contenders at the Olympics, an event that symbolises sporting fairness”.

Italian sports minister Andrea Abodi echoed those comments. “I find it difficult to understand that there is no alignment in the parameters of minimum hormonal values at an international level, which includes the European and world championships and the Olympics,” Abodi said.

“In the event that represents the highest values of sport, the safety of female and male athletes must be guaranteed, as well as respect for fair competition.”

IOC: ‘All boxers comply with entry regulations’

The IOC has repeatedly pointed out that the two boxers are women on their passports and their inclusion has been approved.

In a statement issued before the Khelif-Carini fight, the Olympics governing body said: “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.”