児童レイプ前科あるオランダ選手にブーイング　パリ五輪

【パリＡＦＰ＝時事】児童レイプの前科がある中でパリ五輪のビーチバレーボール男子オランダ代表に選出されたスティーブン・ファンデベルデが、２８日に自身大会初戦に臨み、観客からブーイングを浴びた。（写真は、パリ五輪、ビーチバレー男子１次リーグ・プールＢ、オランダ対イタリア。ポイント獲得を喜び合うオランダのマチュー・インメルス〈左〉とスティーブン・ファンデベルデ）
　ファンデベルデはペアを組むマチュー・インメルスとともに１次リーグの試合に登場。コートへ姿を見せた際には拍手と歓声を受けたが、スピーカーで選手名が紹介されると、客席からは大きなブーイングが巻き起こり、試合中にもたびたびブーイングを浴びせられた。
　現在２９歳のファンデベルデは、未成年の少女をレイプした罪で２０１６年に有罪となり、禁錮４年の判決を受けた。オランダのオリンピック委員会・スポーツ連合からは後押しを得ているが、ファンデベルデの代表選出には女性の権利団体やスポーツの安全を支援する団体から怒りの声が上がっている。
　ファンデベルデは他の代表選手から隔離されて選手村には滞在せず、メディア対応も禁じられている。
　試合後、取材に応じたパートナーのインメルスは、ファンデベルデの前科にばかり注目が集まるのは「残念」だと話し、「彼のことは２、３年過ごして知っているし、いろいろな大会に一緒に出場してきた。過去は過去で、彼はすでに罰を受けている」とコメントした。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/07/29-17:03）

Fans booed a Dutch beach volleyball player convicted of raping an underaged girl as he played his first match at the Paris Olympics, where his controversial selection has put the sport in the spotlight.
Steven van der Velde, now aged 29, was convicted in 2016 of raping an underage girl and sentenced to four years in prison.
He walked onto centre court Sunday with teammate Matthew Immers on Sunday morning to cheers and applause, with many orange-clad Dutch fans standing to clap the pair.
When he was introduced individually over the loudspeaker, however, there was a loud chorus of boos from the crowd.
There were also sporadic boos as he served throughout the game.
The player has won the backing of his country's national Olympic committee, and exchanged a warm hug with teammate Immers before the start of the game.
But his selection has drawn outrage among women's and sports safety groups.
Officials said the player would be separated from his teammates, not stay in the athletes' village, and forbidden from speaking to media.
His teammate Immers told reporters after the match that they had been disappointed by all the focus on van der Velde's past conviction, particularly after a hard fight to qualify.
I know the guy for two, three years together and we played every tournament, he said. What is in the past is in the past, and he had his punishment.
For me that's a big example that you grew, you learned a lot from it. What happened in the past... it's not good of course. But right now we are trying to enjoy and go to the next round.
Ju'Riese Colon, chief executive of the US-based Center for SafeSport, said she was deeply concerned that anyone convicted of sexually assaulting a minor could participate in the Olympics.
With teams from around the world convening in Paris, many of which include minor athletes, this sends a dangerous message that medals and money mean more than their safety, she said.
- Pressure -
Van der Velde served part of his sentence in Britain and was then transferred to the Netherlands, where he was eventually released and took up volleyball again in 2017.
But his selection to the national team for the Paris Games put the popular sport under pressure.
There is a significant difference between receiving a second chance and being selected to represent your country at the Olympics, said Sara Alaoui, founder of The Safe Space Club, a Netherlands-based NGO.
There is a stark contrast between resuming one's work and becoming an internationally celebrated figure whose past transgressions are conveniently forgotten and downplayed.
She told AFP she was deeply disappointed with the Dutch volleyball association.
Van der Velde and Immers just lost out to Italian pair Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Ignacio Carambula Raurich on Sunday morning, after a tightly-fought match which ran to three sets before the Italians stole the decider 15-13.
The Dutch pair will next play on Wednesday against Chile.