SA ministry wants athletics head fired

South Africa's athletics chief must be fired over his handling of Caster Semenya's gender test, the ministry of Sport said.

Head of Athletics South Africa (ASA) Leonard Chuene on Saturday admitted that he ignored advice to withdraw Semenya from competing in the IAAF Championships in Berlin last month, and lied about knowledge of a sex test done on her before the games.

"We now request the membership of ASA to not only take disciplinary action against Chuene, but to fire him from his position as the president of ASA," deputy minister of Sport Gert Oosthuizen said in a statement.

Chuene said he denied knowledge of the August 7 test to "protect" Semenya.

"We are convinced that the perpetual denial of the knowledge of these tests have fuelled the continuous violation of Ms Semenya's rights and dignity, by foreign and some local media," Oosthuizen said.

A probe into Semenya's sex was announced by athletics' governing body, the IAAF, shortly before the athlete won a gold medal in the 800m race thrusting her into the global spotlight.

The IAAF test result was leaked to the media this month, causing widespread anger from the South African public and government.