Biggest Olympics Controversies at Paris 2024 Games

Paris 2024 saw the 33rd iteration of the Summer Olympics take place, precisely 100 years after the city first hosted this iconic and historic event. While the Games were largely successful and well attended, they were not without instances of controversy and events that cast a shadow over the competitors and their incredible achievements.

Whether you watched the action fold live or wagered on various Olympic betting markets at the best DFS sites, these events will have transcended individual sports and generated column inches across the globe. But what were the standout Olympics controversies at Paris 2024, and what legacy will they leave for future Games?

• The Mother of All 2024 Olympic Scandals – Imane Khelif, Lin Yu-Ting and Boxing’s Eligibility Issue
• The Women’s Football Drone Scandal and Canada’s Sanctions
• Olympic Drama and VAR Chaos in Saint-Étienne
• Animal Welfare and Charlotte Dujardin’s Withdrawal

The Mother of All 2024 Olympic Scandals – Imane Khelif, Lin Yu-Ting and Boxing’s Eligibility Issue

Of all the 2024 Olympic scandals, the eligibility concerns surrounding boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting stands alone from the perspective of the division and social media furore that it caused. Representing Algeria and Taiwan respectively, both fighters went on to win gold in their specific weight classes despite ongoing speculation about their eligibility to compete as women.

Khelif, who competed in the 145lb weight class, seemed to attract most of the attention and ire online, particularly after her early win over Italian rival Angela Carini. In this bout, Carini dramatically threw in the towel just 46 seconds into the first round, after claiming to receive a blow to the nose that was “hardest she had ever taken”.

This triggered a predictable social media pile-on, as people began to speculate whether Khelif (and to a lesser extent) Yu-Ting were eligible to compete in the Olympics as biological women. Although both fighters were born as women and have always competed in female weight classes and events, they had been disqualified from the 2023 Women’s Boxing World Championships after they failed the International Boxing Association’s (IBA’s) so-called “gender eligibility” tests.

The issue here is that there’s no clarity about the precise nature of the tests that were conducted, while the results aren’t published or proven to be categorically true. For example, it’s unknown whether the largely discredited IBA (which has been disavowed by the International Olympic Committee due to concerns regarding corruption and governance) carried out testosterone or chromosomal tests, or whether such investigations yielded conclusive results.

Because of this, the strength of the vitriolic reaction on Twitter and similar sites was far from proportionate, but this continued to cast a cloud over both fighter’s achievements as they won coveted gold medals. One thing’s for sure: the IOC confirmed that Khelif and Yu-Ting were eligible to compete as biological women under Olympic rules, while it’s well known now that the former has never identified as intersex during her career.

For now, it remains unclear whether either of these pugilists should be categorized as being intersex or suffering with a disorder of sexual development (DoSD). It therefore seems as though both fighters are deserving of their gold medals, and shouldn’t have faced the immense level of abuse that they were subjected to online.

Of course, we may learn more over time, creating a scenario where further doubt is cast over the current and future eligibility of Khelif and Yu-Ting. This may even prompt the IOC to adjust its eligibility and participation rules in future Games. Regardless, this remains the mother of all Olympics controversies in Paris 2024, and one that may have a significant bearing on boxing’s future at the Games.

The Women’s Football Drone Scandal and Canada’s Sanctions

Another unexpected piece of Olympic drama unfolded early in the tournament, after the New Zealand football women’s team noticed a drone flying over their training session in Saint-Etienne. When local police arrived on the scene, they quickly found and detained the drone’s operator (Joseph Lombardi), and a clear case of Olympics cheating became gradually apparent.

You see, Lombardi was an employed analyst with Canada’s women’s team, with ‘Les Rouges’ set to do battle with NZ in Group A of the competition. When this fact became known, the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) reported the entire incident to the IOC integrity unit, while issuing a joint statement with NZ Football to condemn the actions of their opponents.

A swift and unreserved apology followed by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), before claiming that Lombardi was a “non-accredited member of their delegation” who had since been sent home alongside assistant coach Jasmine Mander. Head coach Bev Priestman was also relieved of her duties after initially denying any part in the spying scheme, while she’ll now serve a one-year ban from all football activities Lombardi and Mander.

As for the Canadians, they were deducted six points by FIFA, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport subsequently dismissed an urgent appeal by the COC to reconsider the sanctions. During proceedings, it also came out that drone spying had become endemic within Canadian soccer in recent years, but this may change in the wake of the summer Olympics! As for the tournament itself, the Canadians were knocked out in the last eight after a penalty shootout defeat to Germany.

Olympic Drama and VAR Chaos in Saint-Étienne

While the group stage men’s football clash between Argentina and Morocco may not be considered among the worst Olympic scandals, it still caused a great deal of controversy when the match took place in Saint-Étienne. The fact that it was the opening match of the men’s football tournament generated even more column inches, with most of the drama unfolding after the conclusion of the match.

Morocco were leading 2-1 as the game entered the 16th-minute of stoppage time, threatening a major upset at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. However, in the dying embers of the game, an Argentinian player attempted a shot at goal from the edge of the area, and while this was saved, the loose ball created a scramble in the box.

Ultimately, Cristian Medina bundled home the loose ball, equalizing and triggering wild celebrations among the Argentinian fans. However, it also created animosity among Morocco’s fans, who had already clashed with their rivals and were upset with the amount of stoppage time added. They subsequently began to hurl projectiles onto the pitch and set of pyrotechnic explosions, while some spectators also stormed the field.

The match was suspended, although many believed that the goal had been the final kick of the game. However, as the pitch was cleared and the dust began to settle, it gradually became clear that the match had simply been ‘interrupted’. What’s more, the VAR was checking Medina’s goal for offside, creating incredible confusion and tension among the fans who remained.

It was later revealed by ESPN that the goal would have been immediately disallowed by the tournament’s semi-automated offside technology, but this was interrupted by the pitch invasion and fan trouble. However, the goal was finally chalked off more than an hour later, with the VAR determining that Argentine Bruno Amino was offside when defender Nicolas Otamendi took a shot at goal, and it was the former’s subsequent attempt that led to Medina’s equalizer.

Eventually, officials decided that the remaining stoppage time (which amounted to three minutes) would be played behind closed doors, with Morocco’s 2-1 lead restored. They managed to see out the game and record a surprise win. However, the fallout saw plenty of criticism for both sets of supporters and the VAR, while the inability of officials to clearly communicate what was happening created one of the most jarring Olympics controversies of 2024.

Animal Welfare and Charlotte Dujardin’s Withdrawal

Our final Olympics scandal actually took place prior to the start of the Summer Games. This involved the accomplished British equestrian Charlotte Dujardin, who was ultimately forced to withdraw from the Games in Paris after a video was released showing her “beat a horse excessively with a whip”.

Initially, the video went unseen by the public, although Dujardin confirmed that it showed making a significant “error of judgement” during a training session some four years’ previously. The footage was subsequently investigated by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), who decided that it would be wrong Dujardin to compete during the interim period and suspended her provisionally for a period of six months.

Dujardin actually requested that she be provisionally suspended ahead of the Olympics, agreeing that she had engaged in conduct that was diametrically opposed to the principles of horse and animal welfare. Interestingly, the equestrian competitor would have likely gone on to become Britain’s most decorated Olympian at the Summer Games had she competed in Paris, creating a narrative that was incredibly sad for all parties involved.

Although this was ultimately a quiet Olympic drama that played out amicably, there’s no doubt that it will have a lasting effect on Dujardin and her legacy. She also had her National Lottery funding withdrawn after the video was made public. As for the Games itself, this will also face sustained questions about the integrity of the equestrian event, with animal rights groups already calling for disciplines of this type to be banned.