Netherlands: AVROTROS has decided not to pursue legal action in response to Joost Klein’s disqualification

Following the dismissal of the accusations against Joost Klein, the Dutch representative for this year’s Eurovision, there has been a backlash in the country, with calls mounting to take the EBU to court. In this context, lawyer Gerard Spong argued that AVROTROS – the country’s public broadcaster – should file a defamation complaint against the EBU. However, AVROTROS does not plan to take such action, according to formal statements made by broadcaster executives to the ANP news agency.

The Dutch entry was disqualified from this year’s competition just hours before the grand final. According to the EBU the Dutch representative used abusive language against a member of the contest production crew.

More specifically, the Dutch broadcaster states that its purpose is not to obtain financial compensation but to contribute to improving the conduct of the competition.

We can’t undo what’s been done. Nor are we seeking to get richer through it. We want to make things better not only for the Netherlands but also for other countries.

At the same time, the representatives of AVROTROS mentioned, once again, that the country’s participation in the upcoming competition depends on the future decisions of the EBU on this issue. They stressed, however, that the broadcaster’s intention is to compete in Switzerland next May.

We’ve been clear from the beginning that things really have to change for us to be there next year. It depends on future EBU decisions.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding our favourite music competition!

Source: RTL