Australia denies van de Velde visa to Beach Volleyball Worlds

Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, 31, has been refused a visa to enter Australia to compete at next month’s Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide, Australian authorities and the Dutch team said, effectively ending the Netherlands’ participation and sidelining his doubles partner Alexander Brouwer. The championships begin on November 14.

Van de Velde, who was selected for the Dutch squad, pleaded guilty in a UK court to assaulting a 12-year-old girl in 2014 and was sentenced in 2016 to four years in prison. He served about 13 months before resuming his professional career and returned to international competition in 2017. He represented the Netherlands at the Paris Olympics last year, where he was housed separately from other athletes and faced public criticism during matches.

South Australian Attorney-General Kyam Maher wrote to the federal government urging rejection of the visa, saying in his letter that the athlete’s offending was “utterly abhorrent” and that foreign offenders should not be granted entry. The federal Home Affairs portfolio, which oversees visa issuance, declined to publicly detail individual visa assessments. Home Affairs Minister...