It was a staggering statement on a day the Olympic Games had never seen before.

Van de Velde, 29, sentenced in 2016 to four years in prison for three charges of raping a child he met on Facebook, was booed as he entered the court for his first match in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, which he and his partner Matthew Immers would lose to Italy. But the more extraordinary scenes came next, when Van de Velde was quickly led away by three security guards, leaving Immers and Van Vliet behind for a withering interrogation by more than 50 journalists, reports Telegraph.co.uk.

Although all athletes are required by International Olympic Committee rules to make themselves available to the media after the match, Van Vliet admitted that a special dispensation had been made for Van de Velde. “It’s definitely created a different situation for Steven,” he said. “We are very aware that when we bring Steven here, it is not about sports or his achievements. There was a time before this, at least 100 tournaments in beach volleyball, where this was never discussed. He never had to do anything about it. So we wanted to create the environment we are used to and not make it extra special on a stage that is even bigger for these players.”

But a central point is that Olympians must meet higher standards than in other tournaments. All athletes in Paris must sign a declaration promising to act as “role models”. Given the nature of his crime, Van de Velde will probably fall far short of that description in the eyes of many.

“The general issue of sexual convictions or sex-related crimes is certainly a much bigger problem than sports,” Van Vliet acknowledged. “But in his case, we have a person who was convicted, who served his sentence, who then did everything he could do to get back into the game.”

Although arrangements were made to keep Van de Velde away from the athletes’ village, the Dutch delegation revealed that he still came to their grounds for team meetings. While bodyguards quickly removed him from the venue to avoid confrontation, his partner Immers, 23, had to provide a very uncomfortable defense for his involvement in the Games.

“He has received his punishment,” Immers said. “And now he’s very nice. For me that is a great example that you can grow. What happened in the past is of course not good.” When asked whether Van de Velde has ever expressed regret for his dark past in private conversations, he replied: “No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t explain. We just want to focus on now.”

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