Host country does not issue a visa
He raped a twelve-year-old: World Cup exit for athletes
Updated 10/28/2025 – 2:04 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
He was still allowed to take part in the 2024 Olympics, but that is now not the case at the Beach Volleyball World Cup. Because of his past, Steven van de Velde is not allowed to enter the host country.
Steven van de Velde will not take part in the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Australia. The Dutchman, who was convicted of sexually abusing a child, was not given a visa to enter the country.
Van de Velde was originally nominated for the Dutch team that was scheduled to compete at the World Championships in Adelaide starting November 14th. But the Australian government rejected his visa application. Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said: “The government will continue to use all available tools to ensure Australians are safe and can feel safe.”
In 2016, Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of raping a 12-year-old British girl. The crimes occurred in August 2014, when Van de Velde was 19 years old. He met the victim through social media. Van de Velde served 13 months of his sentence and resumed his sports career in 2018.
Volleyball Australia chief executive Andrew Dee was informed of the government’s decision on Tuesday morning. “As a local organizing committee, our focus remains on delivering a spectacular World Cup,” Dee said. “It will be the biggest beach volleyball event of the year and the first time that nine Australian teams will compete in green and gold. That’s what we should now focus on and celebrate.”
Last year, Van de Velde took part in the Olympic Games and was booed by the audience. Together with his teammate Matthew Immers, he failed in the quarter-finals in Paris.