"So vile & disgusting" - Fans furious at Imane Khelif's opponent Luca Hamori for 'demonizing' Algerian over gender controversy at Paris Olympics

Fans rallied in support of Olympian Imane Khelif after Hungarian boxer Luca Hamori posted on social media about her upcoming fight with the Algerian.

Khelif became a focal point at the Paris Olympics following her match with Italy's Angela Carini. Just 46 seconds into the match, Carini forfeited the fight due to painful blows. She said she had never experienced punches like this. This brought forth an avalanche of posts across social media, particularly around Khelif's gender identity.

The Algerian was one of the two boxers who were given a red flag by the International Boxing Association (IBA) during the 2023 World Championships for failing their gender eligibility test.

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) cleared her to participate in the Paris Olympics, as their spokesperson, Mark Adams, stated that Khelif was born a female and lived her life as a female boxer. The statement also said that the IBA test had been "sudden and arbitrary".

Khelif, 25, is now gearing up to face Hamori in the quarterfinals on Saturday, August 3.

Ahead of the bout, Hamori reposted a picture on her Instagram story: it has a female boxer facing a beast-like creature in boxing gear. Scrutinizing Hamori's intentions behind the picture, an X user wrote:

"Imane khelif’s next opponent, the hungarian luca hamori, posted this on her ig story… so vile and disgusting."

Fans also joined the debate in the comment section of the tweet. A fan criticized her remarks and urged for her disqualification, writing:

"She should be disqualified for this."

Here are some more reactions from fans.

"These people are insane. calling imane khelif a man is just racism at this point so many women with the same features as hers get called men for no reason other than not fitting the european beauty standard. like we shouldn’t need to bring up her baby pics," a fan wrote

"Praying for a knockout xxx" another fan tweeted

"I hope Imane knocks her out of her senses." a fan added

What Luca Hamori had to say about Imane Khelif

Luca Hamori will take on Imane Khelif on Saturday in the Paris Olympics QF (IMAGE: GETTY)

Luca Hamori defeated Ireland's Gráinne Walsh in the round of 32 on Sunday, July 28, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics. However, she is not very happy about her matchup with Imane Khelif, as she believes that Khelif should not compete in the women's category.

She addressed the matter in her social media writing (as quoted by the BBC):

"In my humble opinion I don't think it's fair that this contestant can compete in the women's category. But I cannot concern myself with that now. I cannot change it, it's life."

She added that she would do everything in her power to provide a tough competition and that she would fight for as long as she could.