Controversial beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde may compete in Adelaide

Organisers of this year’s World Championships say it is not their call whether controversial beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde competes.

Steven van de Velde breaks down after talking about his Olympic experience in August.

Olympic beach volleyballer Steven Van de Velde, who was jailed for raping a 12-year-old British girl, is on track to play at the world championships in Adelaide later this year.

The International Volleyball Federation will determine if the Dutchman is eligible to compete, with local Australian organisers at the mercy of the governing body’s rules.

Van de Velde faced enormous backlash at the Paris Olympics after The Australian publicised that the athlete had been convicted on four counts of raping a child he met on Facebook and served 13 months of a four-year term in jail.

In a statement to The Australian, a spokeswoman on behalf of Volleyball Australia’s 2025 World Championships Local Organising Committee said the decision on Van de Velde’s eligibility to compete would be made by the international governing body.

“As the appointed local organising committee, Volleyball Australia is responsible for the delivery of the event infrastructure and hosting obligations,” a spokeswoman said.

“Eligibility of all competitors and participating nations is determined by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) World Beach Qualification System. For further details on eligibility please contact FIVB.”

Steven Van De Velde was repeatedly booed by the crowd at the Paris Olympics Picture: AFP

However, the Australian government is yet to make a call if Van de Velde will be allowed in the country to compete in November. The Australian requested comment from Home Affairs but did not receive a reply before the government went into caretaker mode for May’s federal election.

Van De Velde was included on the Netherlands’ Paris Olympic team last year after demonstrating “self-insight and reflection” despite his criminal conviction.

Van de Velde and his beach volleyball partner Matthew Immers reached the quarter-finals in Paris, where they lost to Brazil in straight sets. During the Olympic tournament Van de Velde was subjected to boos and jeering.

Van de Velde refused to do media interviews during the Games. A Dutch Olympic team official sensationally admitted they were protecting him from talking publicly about his past.

“We are protecting a convicted child rapist, yes,” said press attache John van Vliet after Van de Velde was allowed to swerve media duties after his first Olympics event in Paris. “To do his sport as best as possible, at a tournament he qualified for.”

However, after the Games Van de Velde said in an interview he thought about quitting before and during the Olympics. “I thought: ‘I don’t want that. I’m not going to give others the power to decide they can bully me away or get rid of me’,” he told Dutch television.

Since Paris, according to reports in the Dutch media, he has split from Immers after winning the bronze medal at the European Championships and plays with a new ­partner, former world champion Alexander Brouwer. The pair started their partnership on Thursday (Friday AEDT) with two victories on the opening day in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite event in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

During the Games and despite uproar from fans and commentators, the International Olympic Committee said it was powerless to stop the Netherlands allowing Van De Velde on its team.

However, the Australian Olympic Committee has a strict policy when it comes to behaviour that would prevent an athlete with a criminal conviction from competing.