Pressure mounts on the International Olympic Committee to probe into how Steven Van der Velde, a convicted child rapist, is being allowed to participate at the Paris Olympics.
Van der Velde has been selected to compete for the Netherlands in the Beach Soccer event, causing a public uproar as activists have called for his immediate exclusion from the global showpiece.
Ciara Bergman, the CEO of Rape Crisis England and Wales, has expressed her disappointment at the subject being at the games meant to role models out of athletes: “If you can rape a child and still compete in the Olympics, despite all athletes signing a declaration promising to be a role model, that is just shocking,” she said.
Bergman has therefore called on the IOC to carry out an investigation to avoid a massive backlash at the biggest sporting event in the world.
