Eurovision Song Contest

Just now, AVROTROS has released a statement about what happened on Thursday night with Joost Klein:

We have taken note of the disqualification by the EBU. AVROTROS finds the disqualification disproportionate and is shocked by the decision. We deeply regret this.

An incident occurred after last Thursday's performance. Against clearly made agreements, Joost was filmed when he had just gotten off stage and had to rush to the greenroom. At that moment, Joost repeatedly indicated that he did not want to be filmed. This wasn’t respected. This led to a threatening movement from Joost towards the camera. Joost did not touch the camera woman. This incident was reported, followed by an investigation by the EBU and police.

Yesterday and today we consulted extensively with the EBU and proposed several solutions. Nevertheless, the EBU has still decided to disqualify Joost Klein. AVROTROS finds the penalty very heavy and disproportionate. We stand for good manners -let there be no misunderstanding about that- but in our view, an exclusion order is not proportional to this incident.

We are very disappointed and upset for the millions of fans who were so excited for tonight. What Joost brought to the Netherlands and Europe shouldn’t have ended this way.

AVROTROS