The World Boxing Organization (WBO) says reports it banned Olympic champion Imane Khelif and stripped her of her gold medal in Paris for failing gender eligibility tests are “patently false “.

A report from an online sports blog was shared on social media after claiming that Khelif had been banned for life.

In a statement, WBO legal counsel Gustavo Olivieri said it had “neither tested nor banned” Khelif and that “any reports to the contrary were blatantly false and ill-intentioned.”

Olivieri added that the WBO had had “no communication” with Khelif.

Khelif being an amateur boxer, the WBO – which sanctions professional boxing – would have no jurisdiction, nor the power to withdraw her medal.

The Algerian won women’s welterweight gold in Paris this summer, a year after being disqualified from the World Championships for failing gender eligibility tests.

The World Championships were hosted by the Russian-led International Boxing Association (IBA), which was later stripped of its global governing body status by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over integrity and of governance.

The IOC also questioned the legitimacy and credibility of the IBA tests, saying they could not be relied upon.

The dispute meant that the IOC was responsible for organizing the boxing competition at the Paris Olympics and applied less strict eligibility criteria.

Speaking after her Olympic victory, Khelif said she had been “bullied” and that the IBA “hates me and I really don’t know why”.

The 25-year-old added: “I am fully qualified to participate in this competition. I am a woman like any other.

“I was born a woman. I lived as a woman. I competed as a woman, there’s no doubt about it.”