France's women's boxing squad has been denied entry to the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool after failing to submit genetic sex test results by the required deadline.
The five-member team cannot participate in the tournament, which commenced Thursday and runs until 14 September.
The French boxing federation expressed "astonishment and indignation" at their athletes' exclusion from the inaugural championships organised by World Boxing.
The governing body implemented compulsory genetic screening in May following eligibility disputes during last year's Paris Olympics.
France's women's boxing team will not be allowed entry into the World Boxing Championship
|PA
France's privacy legislation prohibits such testing in sporting contexts, forcing the team to seek examination at a Leeds laboratory on Monday.
The mandatory PCR genetic tests determine chromosomal sex at birth for all female competitors aged over 18 in World Boxing-sanctioned events.
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This policy emerged after Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting secured gold medals at the Paris Games, having previously been disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by the now-defunct International Boxing Association.
The International Olympic Committee, which oversaw boxing in Paris, permitted their participation based on passport gender designation.
The IOC emphasised this was "not a transgender case" whilst World Boxing received provisional recognition as the sport's international federation in February 2025.
The decision to make genetic testing mandatory was made in May | GETTYThe French federation blamed World Boxing's recommended laboratory for the debacle, stating they received assurances of results "within 24 hours" that would allow timely registration.
The Leeds facility ultimately proved unable to deliver the findings before Wednesday evening's deadline.
World Boxing countered that national federations bear responsibility for managing their athletes' testing procedures.
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The organisation stated it was "very disappointing for the boxers that some national federations have not been able to complete this process in time."
The governing body emphasised that federations possess the closest relationships with their boxers and oversee competition entries, making them best positioned to coordinate testing requirements.
France wasn't alone in missing the testing deadline, with other nations reportedly affected by similar complications.
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Imane Khelif won a gold medal at Paris 2024 | ReutersThe excluded French athletes include Romane Moulai, Wassila Lkhadiri, Melissa Bounoua, Sthelyne Grosy and Maelys Richol.
Richol posted calls for federation officials to resign on social media, sharing a message from Estelle Mossely, a former candidate for French boxing federation leadership.
Meanwhile, Khelif won't compete in Liverpool either, having failed to secure an emergency interim decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The Algerian has mounted a broader legal challenge against World Boxing's genetic testing requirements, which she filed last week.