Dutch paedophile Steven Van de Velde was booed by spectators as his team overcame Chile in beach volleyball at the Olympic Games in Paris today.
Van de Velde, who served time in prison for having sex with a 12-year-old girl, was heckled by the crowd every time he served at the Eiffel Tower Stadium.
It was the second time fans of the sport made their feelings known after the athlete, now 29, was given a cold reception upon his debut on Sunday.
His team, however, have been unapologetic about van de Velde taking part in the Olympics, saying ‘the past is in the past’ and that the matter should not be brought up at the Games.
Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in Britain in 2016 following the rape of a 12-year-old girl two years earlier when he was 19.
Steven Van De Velde was given a cold reception while competing against Chile on Wednesday
His team have been unapologetic, saying ‘the past is the past’
Crowds jeered at the 29-year-old as he touched the ball during the Netherlands-Chile game
The Dutch team saw off Chile 2-0 in Wednesday’s match, winning 21-19 and 21-16.
But Van de Velde has faced consistent criticism and calls for him to step back from representing his nation over his prior conviction.
Sharing a clip of the Olympic footage, one Twitter/X user wrote: ‘Too bad for you Steven van de Velde, you have no right not to be booed.’
Van de Velde spent 13 months in prison – one year in Britain and one month in the Netherlands – before being freed there after what he did was re-classified under Dutch law as a lesser offence of ‘committing indecent acts’ and his sentence was reduced.
Van de Velde has been competing in beach volleyball again since 2017.
He was booed several times during Sunday’s match, though there was also applause from other members of the crowd.
Among the spectators, Melissa Gautier, a 23-year-old health worker, said she thought van de Velde should not be there.
‘Being an athlete shouldn’t give you a free pass,’ she said.
Andrea Syslos, a 47-year-old lawyer from Italy, did not know about the case, but when told about it said: ‘It’s not a good thing. Sporting justice should be harsher than civil justice.
‘Maybe he shouldn’t still be in prison but it’s not normal that he is playing in the Olympics where he should be an example for other people,’ he said.
But van de Velde’s teammate Matthew Immers brushed away the criticism over the now 29-year-old taking part in the Olympics.
‘What’s in the past is in the past. He had his punishment and now he is really kind. For me it is an example that (he) grew and learnt a lot from it,’ Immers told reporters.
‘I’m enjoying playing with him,’ he said.
The athlete, pictured with teammate Matthew Immers (left) was sentenced to prison in 2016
Steven van de Velde of Netherlands looks dejected during the match
The 29-year-old has faced intense scrutiny for his role in Dutch team this year
John van Vliet, a press officer for the Netherlands team, said: ‘It’s something that shouldn’t be brought up through sports in a tournament that he qualified for.
‘The general matter of sex convictions or sex-related crime is a much bigger issue than sport but in his case we have a person who has been convicted, who did his sentence and did everything afterwards that he can do to compete again.’
Dutch team spokesman John van Vliet said the decision to shelter Van de Velde was made by the national Olympic committee and shared with the International Olympic Committee.
Asked if they were protecting a convicted child rapist, he said: ‘We are protecting a convicted child rapist to do his sport as best as possible and for a tournament which he qualified for.’
‘The general matter of sex conviction and sex-related crime is definitely a more important issue than sport,’ Van Vliet said in the mixed zone after the match on Sunday.
‘In his case, we’ve got a person who has been convicted, who did his sentence, who did everything afterwards which he can do to be able to compete again.’
Last week, BBC pundit and Olympian Paula Radcliffe apologised after receiving backlash for wishing good luck to Van de Velde at the Olympics.
Former World and European champion runner Radcliffe, in Paris for the broadcaster, admitted she was ‘wishing him the best of luck’ during a shocking radio interview with LBC.
‘It’s a tough thing to do to punish him [van de Velde] twice and if he’s managed to successfully turn his life around after being sent to prison and to qualify and be playing sport at the highest level, then I actually wish him the best of luck,’ she said.
Radcliffe posted an apology statement on social media.
‘Last night I gave an interview and made some comments that I deeply regret,’ she said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.
‘I want to sincerely apologise and emphasise how much I categorically condemn the crime of rape. I am ashamed that my words so inaccurately represented myself. It was a mistake not to clearly denounce this at the beginning.
‘In trying to explain how the athlete in question could possibly be allowed to compete at the Olympic Games, my thought process referred to the legalities and regulations when I also intended to highlight the danger of these allowing an athlete convicted of such a crime to return.
‘Competing in the Olympic Games is a privilege that should be reserved for those who uphold the Olympic moral ideals.’
