It appears as if Joost Luiten won’t be competing in Paris after all.
The Dutch player took the Netherlands’ National Olympic Committee to court last week after the committee denied the 38-year-old Luiten from representing his country for a second straight Olympics despite Luiten initially qualifying via the International Golf Federation ranking.
Luiten won the litigation battle, saying afterward, “The Olympic rings are colored again.”
Except they aren’t.
The IGF released a statement on Tuesday, the day the 60-man Olympic men’s golf competition field was set to be finalized, revealing that Luiten’s spot had already been allocated away, presumably to Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen (second on the reserve list before Luiten and countryman Darius van Driel were removed), and that the International Olympic Committee had denied the IGF’s request to expand the field by one player to accommodate Luiten.
“When the International Golf Federation received notification of Joost Luiten’s court ruling in the Netherlands and his entry from the Netherlands’ National Olympic Committee (NOC*NSF), his unused quota spot had already been reallocated pursuant to the IGF’s published qualification procedures,” the statement read. “The IGF was not a party to the legal action brought forth by Luiten in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, in an effort to support Luiten, the IGF sought an exception from the IOC to increase the field size of the men’s Olympic golf competition from 60 to 61 competitors to include Luiten, however the request was denied by the IOC today.
“The IGF has advised Luiten of the IOC’s decision, and he has not informed the IGF whether he intends to pursue this matter further.”
In correspondence with Spanish outlet, Handicap 54, Luiten said of the situation, “It is all bulls---, and they all hide behind each other.”
“I have done nothing wrong,” Luiten added. “Because of mistakes and decisions of others, I am the one that is getting shafted.”
Luiten then went on social media and sent out a longer response:
“After winning the courtcase against the @NOCNSF, the @IOC has decided not to let me play at @Olympics in Paris! I can’t take The Olympics (IOC) serious anymore! If they say the fundamentals of the olympic games are about INTEGRITY, FAIRPLAY and RESPECT you are all lies! Even though I have been qualified by their own rules and entered before the entry deadline! They don’t let me play!
“They don’t take the Dutch law as there jurisdiction and my spot in The Olympics had already been given away to somebody else because the @NOCNSF withdrew me early! Now they don’t want to give me my spot back!!! I don’t see any fairplay or respect from the IOC, so how can they say The Olympic games are build on those fundamentals??
“It is all POLITICS and all they care about is that they have their own party at the Olympics with their mates!!”