Steven van de Velde, a convicted child rapist, has been backed by his teammate over his controversial inclusion in this summer's Olympic Games.
Van de Velde made his Olympic debut on July 28 and was unsurprisingly met with a chorus of boos as the Netherlands faced Italy in the preliminary round of the men's beach volleyball competition.
The 29-year-old was sentenced to four years in prisons in 2016 after admitting to three counts of rape against a 12-year-old girl in August 2014.
Advert
He travelled to the UK from Amsterdam to meet her knowing her age. Van de Velde served just 13 months of the sentence.
Van de Velde is back in action today (August 2) alongside his teammate Matthew Immers as they face Norway duo Anders Mol and Christian Sorum.
Amid the fierce criticism of his inclusion, Immers has now come out to defend his partner on the sand and claims he was 'disappointed' in the fan reaction while playing.
Advert
He said on the boos: "I don’t want to say much about it. What was in the past is in the past. I can’t change his past. I’m here to play with him.
"We want to have good results here. There are a lot of people who support us. We do it for them.
"He has a lot of pressure on his shoulders. I’m OK with that. Mentally we are strong, I am strong, we will get through this together."
"It is what it is. I was disappointed with the fans. We talked on the field and asked ourselves: what do we need from each other? It was worse than in the first game.
Advert
"We need each other on the field, the hugs, the cheering."
It would be no surprise if the boos continued during the match against Norway but the decision to call the controversial athlete for participation in the Games has been defended by Dutch Chef de mission Pieter van den Hoogenband.
He stated: "Steven has been active in international sports and the beach volleyball world for a long time. He has played in World Cups, European Championships and World Championships, but then you see that things are different around the Games. That things are exaggerated around the Games.
Advert
"We don’t have blinkers on and we don’t close our eyes. I’m the boss, responsible for the whole team, for the athletes. He’s just a member of the team, he qualified, and that’s why he deserves our support."
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 222, available 24/7. If you are currently in danger or need urgent medical attention, you should call 999.
Topics: Olympics
Marcus Banks