The Dutch broadcaster is angry, fans confused after Dutchman Joost Klein was excluded from the Eurovision Song Contest

MALMO, Sweden (AP) — A Dutch public broadcaster reacted angrily after the Dutch Eurovision Song Contest entrant was dramatically removed from the contest just hours before Saturday’s final because of a behind-the-scenes altercation that is being investigated by police was excluded.

The European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the Eurovision Song Contest, said Swedish police were investigating “a complaint from a female member of the production team” against Joost Klein and that it would not be appropriate for him to take part while the legal proceedings were ongoing.

Klein did not perform at two dress rehearsals in the Swedish city of Malmo on Friday, and organizers had said they were investigating an “incident.” Although there were rumors that the incident was related to the Israeli delegation, organizers said that “no other artist or delegation member was involved.”

The EBU said Klein would not receive points from national juries or from Eurovision viewers who help select the winner, and that the Netherlands would not appear on the competition’s scoreboard. Dutch viewers can still take part in the competition, as viewers in Eurovision member countries are not allowed to vote for their own country’s performance.

It was unclear whether Klein was still in Malmö on Saturday.

Such a last-minute disqualification is unprecedented in the 68-year history of the Eurovision Song Contest, although countries boycotted the event and in some cases were expelled – including Russia, which was kicked out after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, one of dozens of public broadcasters co-financing and broadcasting the competition, said it was “shocked by the decision.”

It later issued a statement saying that as Klein left the stage after Thursday’s semifinal, he was filmed without his consent and then made a “threatening movement” toward the camera.

The broadcaster said Klein did not touch the camera or the camerawoman and called his expulsion a “very severe and disproportionate” punishment.

“We are very disappointed and upset for the millions of fans who were so looking forward to tonight,” it said. “What Joost brought to the Netherlands and Europe should not have ended like this.”

The 26-year-old Dutch singer and rapper was popular with both bookmakers and fans with his song “Europapa”, an optimistic Euro-techno ode to the diversity of the continent that is also a tribute to Klein’s parents. who died when he was still a child.

Dave Adams, a British fan dressed as Klein in a blue suit with pointed shoulder pads, said the disqualification left him “a little disappointed.”

“It’s just a bit depressing, isn’t it?” he said. “(We’ll) see how it goes today. I’m sure there will be a good winner – at least hopefully.”

The competition, in which nations compete for pop music glory, has already been marked by disagreements over the inclusion of Israel. It has sparked major protests from Palestinians and their supporters who say Israel should be excluded because of its warfare in Gaza.

This story has been corrected to show that the Dutch broadcaster’s spelling is AVROTROS, not AVROTOS.

Associated Press writers Kwiyeon Ha and Hilary Fox in Malmo contributed to this story.