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SEMENYA LOSES SWISS SUPREME COURT APPEAL OVER WORLD ATHLETICS TESTOSTERONE RULES
BY ALI IVESON
Caster Semenya has lost an appeal to the Swiss Supreme Court over a World Athletics ruling which means she must take testosterone-reducing medication in order to be eligible to compete.
The current rules force athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD) to take drugs to medically reduce their naturally-occurring testosterone if they want to compete in women’s events ranging from 400 metres to a mile.
Semenya, the 800m champion at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, had previously appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the policy, but was unsuccessful.
This latest ruling is a further blow for Semenya, who will be unable to defend her Olympic crown at the postponed Tokyo 2020 Games unless she takes medication as things stand.
“I am very disappointed by this ruling, but refuse to let World Athletics drug me or stop me from being who I am,” the South African said in response to the ruling.
“Excluding female athletes or endangering our health solely because of our natural abilities puts World Athletics on the wrong side of history.
“I will continue to fight for the human rights of female athletes, both on the track and off the track, until we can all run free the way we were born.
“I know what is right and will do all I can to protect basic human rights, for young girls everywhere.”
The World Athletics regulations mean that DSD athletes with naturally high levels of testosterone wanting to compete over the distances in question need to medically limit that level to less than 5 nmol/L, double the normal female range of below 2 nmol/L.
World Athletics, known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) when the controversial rules were introduced, insists that they exist to protect women’s sport, but others have criticised them for infringing on human rights.
World Athletics welcomed what it termed a decision “to uphold our DSD Regulations as a legitimate and proportionate means of protecting the right of all female athletes to participate in our sport on fair and meaningful terms”.
The governing body also “rejected the suggestion that they infringe any athlete’s human rights, including the right to dignity and the right to bodily integrity.”
A United Nations report published in July was critical of the regulations, which it said “effectively legitimise the surveillance of all women athletes based on stereotypes of femininity” and “denies athletes with variations in sex characteristics an equal right to participate in sports and violates the right to non-discrimination more broadly.”
Human Rights Watch has also condemned the World Athletics rules.
A World Athletics statement added: “World Athletics fully respects each individual’s personal dignity and supports the social movement to have people accepted in society based on their chosen legal sex and/or gender identity.
“As the SFT [Swiss Federal Tribunal] specifically recognised, however, the DSD Regulations are not about challenging an individual’s gender identity, but rather about protecting fair competition for all female athletes.
“The Swiss Federal Tribunal acknowledged that innate characteristics can distort the fairness of competitions, noted that in sport several categories (such as weight categories) have been created based on biometric data, and confirmed that ‘It is above all up to the sports federations to determine to what extent a particular physical advantage is likely to distort competition and, if necessary, to introduce legally admissible eligibility rules to remedy this state of affairs.’
“The Court of Arbitration for Sport agreed with World Athletics in its 30 April 2019 award and now the SFT has also agreed that ‘In some contexts, such as competitive sport, biological characteristics may, exceptionally and for the purposes of fairness and equal opportunity, trump a person’s legal sex or gender identity’.”
Norton Rose Fulbright, the law firm representing Semenya, said she was considering her options and highlighted that the World Medical Association had previously called on physicians not to help implement the World Athletics regulations.
In contrast, the CAS verdict found the regulations to be “necessary, reasonable and proportionate” to protect the fairness of women’s sport.
In addition to the Olympic titles, Semenya is a three-time world champion over 800m – winning gold medals in 2009, 2011 and 2017.
Semenya won Commonwealth Games titles in the 800m and 1500m races at Gold Coast 2018.
Now 29, Semenya has had to deal with controversy and innuendo throughout her career, dating back to when the IAAF asked the athlete to take a gender test in 2009 and it became public knowledge on the day she won the 800m world title as an 18-year-old.
She is the most high-profile athlete impacted by the current rules regarding DSD athletes’ testosterone levels.
They came into force in November 2018, with Semenya announcing her CAS challenge in June of the same year.
It was not until May 2019 that CAS reached its verdict.
The South African has previously stated an intention to run in the 200m at the next Olympics, which would not require her to take testosterone-reducing drugs.
She has a personal best over the distance of 24.26sec and needs to post a time of 22.80 to secure an Olympic berth
.-insidethegames
By Kunle Solaja, MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez etched his name into FIFA World Cup history on Sunday after becoming only the sixth player ever to be sent off in a World Cup final.
Fernandez was shown a straight red card in the third minute of added time during Argentina’s final against Spain after a reckless challenge on Spanish defender Pau Cubarsí. The dismissal came after the Argentine had earlier been booked for simulation, capping a frustrating evening for the midfielder.
His red card also means Argentina have now produced two players who have been sent off in World Cup finals, more than any other nation.
Sports Village Square recalls that the first-ever red card in a FIFA World Cup final was issued to Argentina’s Pedro Monzón during the 1990 final against West Germany at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Monzón was dismissed as Argentina went on to lose 1-0. In the same match, teammate Gustavo Dezotti was also sent off, making it the only World Cup final to feature two expulsions from the same team.
Fernandez now joins an exclusive and unwanted list of players dismissed in football’s biggest match.
The players sent off in FIFA World Cup finals are:
- Pedro Monzón (Argentina) vs West Germany, 1990
- Gustavo Dezotti (Argentina) vs West Germany, 1990
- Marcel Desailly (France) vs Brazil, 1998
- Zinedine Zidane (France) vs Italy, 2006
- John Heitinga (Netherlands) vs Spain, 2010
- Enzo Fernandez (Argentina) vs Spain, 2026
History has rarely been kind to teams reduced to 10 men in the World Cup final. Except France in 1998, when Marcel Desailly was dismissed late in a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Brazil, every team that has had a player sent off in the final has ended up on the losing side.
Fernandez’s dismissal therefore added another chapter to one of the tournament’s most exclusive and unfortunate records, reinforcing the trend that a red card in the World Cup final has almost always been accompanied by defeat.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA, NEW YORK
Africa emerged as the most successful confederation in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with an unprecedented 90 percent of its representatives advancing to the Round of 32.
Nine of the 10 African teams that started the tournament secured places in the knockout phase, giving the Confederation of African Football (CAF) the highest qualification rate among all six continental confederations.
The African nations progressing to the Round of 32 are South Africa, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Senegal, Egypt, Ghana, DR Congo and Algeria.
Only one African team failed to survive the group stage, underscoring the continent’s growing competitiveness on football’s biggest stage.
CAF’s 90 per cent success rate placed it ahead of South America’s CONMEBOL, which saw 83.33 per cent of its teams advance, and Europe’s UEFA, whose members recorded an 81.25 per cent qualification rate.
The figures represent a significant shift in the global football landscape, where European and South American nations have traditionally dominated World Cup competitions.
The expanded 48-team format appears to have provided African countries with greater opportunities to showcase their progress, and they responded with a series of impressive performances throughout the group stage.
Cape Verde emerged as one of the tournament’s surprise packages by reaching the knockout rounds for the first time, while South Africa, DR Congo and Algeria also celebrated historic advances.
Senegal made history by becoming the first African nation to score five goals in a World Cup match, while Morocco continued the momentum generated by their remarkable semi-final run at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In contrast, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) endured a difficult campaign, with only 22.22 per cent of its teams progressing. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) recorded a 50 per cent qualification rate despite having the advantage of three host nations.
Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) failed to place any team in the Round of 32.
World Cup Round of 32 Qualification Rates by Confederation
- CAF (Africa): 90%
- CONMEBOL (South America): 83.33%
- UEFA (Europe): 81.25%
- CONCACAF (North and Central America/Caribbean): 50%
- AFC (Asia): 22.22%
- OFC (Oceania): 0%
The statistics show Africa’s growing influence in world football and raise hopes that the continent could produce its strongest collective performance ever in the knockout stages of a FIFA World Cup.
With nine teams still in contention, Africa enters the Round of 32 with more representatives than any other confederation and a genuine opportunity to challenge for the latter stages of the tournament.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA, NEW YORK.
Ecuador will look to continue their strong record against Concacaf opposition when they face Curaçao in a Group E encounter at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The South Americans enter the match having won their last two World Cup meetings with teams from the Concacaf region and will be eager to maintain that trend as they chase a place in the knockout rounds.
For Curaçao, however, the fixture represents an opportunity to create history.
The Caribbean nation is one of the tournament’s debutants and is still searching for its first World Cup victory. After suffering a heavy defeat to Germany in their opening match, Curaçao will be desperate to demonstrate the resilience and determination that earned them a place at the expanded 48-team tournament.
A victory would make them the first of the World Cup 2026 newcomers to register a win and would provide a significant boost to their qualification hopes.
Ecuador are expected to rely on their experience at this level, but they know underestimating Curaçao could prove costly. The underdogs have already shown flashes of attacking quality despite their difficult introduction against Germany.
As the group stage begins to take shape, both teams understand the importance of securing points. Ecuador are chasing progression, while Curaçao are chasing history.
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