The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on Tuesday defended its decision to disqualify the Netherlands from the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, reiterating that the behavior of its entrant, Joost Klein, “constituted a clear breach of the contest’s rules”.

The 26-year-old singer was, as it will be recalled, barred from two of the contest’s dress rehearsals on Friday and his expulsion was announced on Saturday morning, hours before the grand final. According to the EBU, the reason for this was a “complaint filed by a female member of the production team following an incident after his performance in Thursday’s semi-final”.

On Tuesday, the organisation explained that Joost Klein was disqualified “following threatening behaviour towards a female member of the production team” and that the “Swedish police have investigated the offence”, which “will shortly be passed to the Public Prosecutor’s Office”.

“Joost’s behaviour constituted a clear breach of the contest’s rules, which are in place to ensure a safe working environment for all personnel and to protect the production. We are not prejudging the legal process, but given the circumstances of what happened and the fact that the police case file will shortly be passed to the prosecutor, it would not have been appropriate for Joost to take part in the grand final,” the statement reads.

The EBU assures that the decision was “supported” by the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group and “unanimously endorsed by the EBU Executive Board, following a thorough internal inquiry”.

After the expulsion, the Dutch broadcaster Avrotros guaranteed that, “against clearly established agreements, Joost was filmed when he had just left the stage and had to go to the ‘green room’.

“At that moment, Joost repeatedly indicated that he did not want to be filmed. This was not respected. This led to a threatening movement by Joost towards the camera. Joost did not touch the camera woman,” said Avrotros, assuring that it “consulted extensively” with the EBU and “proposed several solutions”, but the decision to disqualify the artist was taken anyway.

However, the organisation of the European contest has now come out to say that “the version of events that has been circulating in some public commentary and on social media does not correspond to the statements” shared by “staff and witnesses”.

“The matter is now the subject of a legal process and unfortunately we cannot comment further at this stage. We have a zero tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour at our events and will always take the necessary steps to address threats to staff - regardless of their origin,” it added.

The Swedish press initially reported that the Dutch singer had assaulted a photographer at the end of one of Friday’s dress rehearsals. On Monday, the tabloid Aftonbladet indicated that Joost Klein had broken the photographer’s camera. On the same day, the authorities announced that the Dutch singer should be charged with threats.

The expulsion also came after the Dutch singer had a tense moment with the Israeli representative, Eden Golan. At a press conference, a Polish journalist questioned the Israeli artist about her responsibility for the highest level of terrorist alert that Malmö is experiencing. “By being here, you are a security risk and a danger to everyone. Don’t you care about that?” he asked.

The press conference moderator reminded Eden Golan that she was not obliged to answer the question. “Why not?” asked the Dutch artist out loud. The episode went viral on social media.

Joost Klein in Europapa:
"I don't care who you are, I don't care where you're from"

Also Joost Klein:
"Why not" after the Polish journalist blamed Eden Golan for all the threats she gets by radical Islamists, all the while he covers his head with the Dutch flag.

So… pic.twitter.com/aCbOvDiB82

— Ella Travels (Ella Kenan) (@EllaTravelsLove) May 10, 2024

Joost Klein represented the Netherlands with ‘Europapa’, a song that is an ode to Europe and a world without borders, as well as a tribute to the parents who died when the singer was a teenager.

According to data revealed on Saturday morning, ‘Europapa’ reached second place in the event’s second semi-final, which took place on Thursday, coming behind only Israel.

The 68th Eurovision Song Contest was held in Malmö, Sweden, between 7th and 11th May and, despite the criticism due to Israel’s participation, was ultimately won by Switzerland, the most neutral country in the world, with Nemo and ‘The Code’.

Leia Também: Joost Klein, expulso da Eurovisão, deverá ser acusado por ameaça (Portuguese version)