Steven van de Velde for the JO de Paris 2024. © The Times/News Licensing/ABACA
The Dutch beach volleyball pair Van de Velde/Immers lost to the Italians Carambula/Ranghieri (22-20, 19-21, 15-13) this Sunday, July 28, on the sidelines of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The former must not have appreciated the visual spectacle offered by the court at the foot of the Eiffel Tower since he was particularly booed by part of the public. The fault lies in his four-year prison sentence for the rape of a 12-year-old girl. The events occurred in Milton Keynes (England) in 2014, when the athlete was 19 years old.
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Spectators “uncomfortable”
Allowed to serve his sentence in the Netherlands after being tried in Britain, Steven van de Velde was released after a year in prison and resumed his professional career in 2018, “after a specialized treatment program”according to a statement from the Dutch Olympic Committee. Not enough for spectators at the Olympic event this Sunday.
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According to Le Figaropresent on site, many whistles came down from the stands. Some spectators said to themselves ” uncomfortable “when others thought of coming with placards to protest.
Faced with this outcry, the Dutch delegation is trying to put out the fire. To do this, there will be no press conference by Steven van de Velde and he is not staying in the Olympic village. “We have to help him, as a member of the team, to be able to perform”the head of the Dutch delegation, Pieter van den Hoogenband, in Paris, told Reuters.
