A Dutch beach volleyball player convicted of raping a 12-year-old child has been denied entry in Australia ahead of a coveted worldwide competition.
Steven van de Velde, 31, was scheduled to represent his country at the upcoming Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide, South Australia, from November 14 through the 23.
The BBC reported Van de Velde was refused entry on October 27.
“We took into account that the combination of the Australian authorities’ policy and my past might pose a problem for obtaining a visa,” van de Velde reportedly said in reaction to authorities denying his entry, per The Athletic. “This outcome is not only unacceptable to me, but also to the rest of the team with whom we have been working closely all year.”
In 2016, van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of raping a 12-year-old girl in 2014, when he was 19. The athlete spent a total of 13 months in prison, 12 of which were served in the United Kingdom before he was transferred to the Netherlands, where he was resentenced to a shorter term. He was released from prison in 2017.
Heleen Crielaard, the technical director of Dutch volleyball association, said the organization was “aware this could happen” and had made sure “all the documents requested by the Australian authorities” were submitted ahead of time, The Athletic reported on October 27.
“Unfortunately, we have now been informed that the decision has been made not to grant the visa,” she added. “We regret this, but we have no choice but to accept the decision.”
The volleyball player’s teammate Alexander Brouwer will also be unable to compete in the international event.
Van de Velde rose to beach volleyball stardom in 2011, when he won the Under-20 Dutch National Championships. He also represented the Netherlands in the 2015 European Games.
The athlete’s entry into the country was opposed by South Australia’s Attorney-General Kyam Maherd, who wrote in a letter to the Australian government that his crimes were “utterly abhorrent” and that “we do not believe that foreign child sex offenders should be granted entry to this country.”
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke also told the BBC that the country will “continue to use every tool we have available to ensure that Australians can be safe and feel safe in their communities.”
Van de Velde previously represented the Dutch team at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, his inclusion sparking anger among many sports fans.
“I definitely had a quitting-moment, both before the tournament and during it,” van de Velde told the Dutch broadcaster NOS in August 2024 of the fervent backlash. “But I thought: ‘I’m not going to give others the power to bully me away or get me away.”
The volleyball player was booed by some in the crowd during competitive play — a response he said he understood, to a degree.
“Do you want somebody with a history? Can he stand on the podium? That is a legitimate question to ask … [but] I’m not the person I was 10 years ago. I can’t change what people think of me,” he said at the time. “Someone can hold me responsible forever for what happened and that’s OK because that’s what it is. It is their right, so I accept that.”
Van de Velde and his then-teammate Matthew Immers made it to round 16 of the Olympic competition before they were defeated by Brazil.