JOHANNESBURG – The South African Football Association (SAFA) has taken note of the ruling issued by CAS against the appeal of Caster Semenya and expresses its shock and disappointment at the ruling, which now forces female athletes to regulate their testosterone levels.
If in fact, the comments attributed to the Judges are true, in that they state the rules are “discriminatory… such discrimination is a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the IAAF’s aim of preserving the integrity of female athletics in the Restricted Events.” this is even more shocking to us as South Africans, given our sad past history of discrimination against the majority of South Africans during the apartheid years.
As SAFA, what we cannot comprehend is how legal minds can justify and effectively legalize such discrimination in any form or format, and then, in fact, allow a body to enforce such discrimination without recourse.
As SAFA, we reconfirm our support for Caster Semenya and reject the ruling and call upon the appropriate authorities to reverse this discriminatory ruling.