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dutch Olympian Steven van de Velde, who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl in 2016 BritainShe has been refused a visa to compete at the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Australia, the government said on Tuesday.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke suggested the 31-year-old’s criminal record was the reason he was refused a visa to compete in the tournament, which begins in Adelaide on 14 November.
“The government will continue to use every tool at our disposal to ensure Australians can stay safe and feel safe in their communities,” Burke said in a statement.
Van de Velde said in a statement that he anticipated Australian government policy and his criminal past could create problems in obtaining a visa.
“This result has been accepted not only by me, but also by the rest of the team,” Van de Velde said in Dutch.
Due to field restrictions, teammate Alexander Bruder will not be the only one competing.
Van de Velde made her Olympic debut in Paris last year despite calls for a ban from sex crime victim advocates, lawmakers and fans. The International Olympic Committee said it was powerless to prevent the Netherlands from sending an athlete who would have qualified in the normal way.
He and his Olympic teammate Matthew Immers won only one of their four matches during the Games.
Two weeks after the Olympics, Van de Velde and Emmers won the bronze medal at the 2024 European Beach Volleyball Championships in the Netherlands.
Volleyball Australia chief executive Andrew Dee said he was only informed of the government’s decision to ban Van de Velde on Tuesday.
“As the local organizing committee, our focus is on ensuring that we deliver a great World Championships,” Dee said.
“This will be the biggest beach volleyball event in the world this year and for the first time we will have nine Australian teams proudly wearing the green and gold. That’s what we should all be focusing on now and celebrating,” he said.
Van de Velde was 19 in 2014 when he contacted his victim on social media and flew to Britain to rape her.
He was convicted on three charges of rape and spent 13 months of a four-year sentence in prison before resuming his sporting career in 2018.
Australia has long exercised wide discretion to refuse temporary visas to foreigners subject to “character tests”.
Two weeks ago, the High Court of Australia dismissed the American conservative commentator candace owens ‘ Last year she tried to overturn her visa ban while she was planning a speaking tour of the country.
Burke was barred because of the risk that she would “stir up discord in the Australian community.”
Burke had stripped American rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, of his Australian visa after he released his single “Heil Hitler” in May this year. He had been traveling to Australia for years, where his wife of three years, Bianca CensorWas born.