Muslim WWE wrestler Sami Zayn leapt to the defence of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif after the fighter at the centre of a storm over her alleged ‘gender ineligibility’ booked her spot in the Olympic gold medal match after victory on Tuesday night.
Khelif downed Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng on points in a re-run of their 2023 world championship semi-final – and IBA event which came just before she was disqualfied from the competition after reportedly failing gender ineligibility tests.
The 25-year-old has been vociferously defended by the IOC over her inclusion in the competition in Paris, in the wake of widespread misinformation around Khelif being born ‘biologically male’.
After beating her first opponent in the French capital Angela Carini following the Italian’s swift withdrawal just 46 seconds into their fight, Khelif has been the subject of major scrutiny as she has progressed through the women’s welterweight competition.
But Zayn – real name Rami Sebei – called on Khelif to leave it all in the ring in her upcoming gold medal match against Liu Yang of China as he threw his support behind her.

Sami Zayn – real named Rami Sebei – threw his support behind beseiged boxer Imane Khelif
The Algerian fighter has booked her place in the gold medal match after winning on Tuesday
Zayn took to social media on Tuesday evening to congratulate Khelif on her performance
‘Big ups to the Muslim sister Imane Khelif who advanced in the Olympics today to box for the gold medal after facing a swarm of the most idiotic, bigoted comments I’ve ever seen an Olympic athlete face,’ Zayn wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
‘Inshallah she wins the big one & the b****asses online get the help they need.’
Khelif went into her semi-final against Suwannepheng against the backdrop of noisy Algerian support in the stands, and thanked her compatriots for getting behind her after the victory.
‘I am focused,’ Khelif said. ‘I am here for a good performance and my dream. I will give everything I have for the final.
‘I am very happy. I am very happy for all the support here in Paris. I want to thank all the people of Algeria who came here.’
Earlier this week, Khelif used her first sit down interview to call upon Olympic fans to ‘refrain for bullying athletes’ and to ‘remember the Olympic charter’ in the face of the abuse she has faced.
The 25-year-old despatched Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand via unanimous points victory
Kehlif was loudly supported by her compatriots in the stands at the Roland Garros Stadium
While Khelif has had the backing of the IOC – who also greenlit the selection of Lin Yu-ting, a Chinese fighter who was disqualified by the IBA on the same grounds – the embattled boxing governing body continued to state their case at a shambolic press conference on Monday.
IBA president Umar Kremlev hurled abuse at the IOC and referred to president Thomas Bach as a ‘sodomite’ before doubling down on the IBA’s test results, despite not offering any further clarification over the nature of the tests.
The IBA have alleged that both Khelif and Lin have the presence of ‘male XY chromosomes’ but have not revealed the nature of the tests that were undertaken to deliver this conclusion.
Lin will fight her featherweight semi-final against Esra Yildiz Kahraman on Wednesday evening.