The Dutch artist Joost Klein was excluded from tonight’s Eurovision song contest, after the complaint was filed against him for an incident that took place on Thursday backstage at the Malmo Arena.

According to a BBC report, Joost Klein is going home after a woman, a member of the production crew, filed a complaint about threats she received from him.

In a statement, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said that “it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the competition” while the legal process is ongoing.

The first reaction to the exclusion of Joost Klein from the Eurovision final came according to Agence France-Presse from the TV station Avrotros, which hosts the contest in the Netherlands, as it considers the exclusion of the Dutch artist “disproportionate”.

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The channel said in a press release sent to AFP that it found the ban “disproportionate” saying the “decision is shocking”. “We are deeply sorry and will come back to this later,” added the broadcaster, which is part of the Dutch public broadcasting system.

In detail, the EBU announcement:

“Dutch artist Joost Klein will not be competing in the Grand Final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Swedish police investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production crew following an incident following his appearance in Thursday night’s Semi-Final. While the legal process is taking its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the Competition.

We would like to make it clear that, contrary to some media reports and social media speculation, this incident did not involve any other performers or members of the delegation.

We maintain a zero tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior at our event and are committed to providing safety and a safe working environment for all Contest staff. In light of this, Joost Klein’s behavior towards a member of the team is considered to be in violation of the rules of the Competition.

The Grand Final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest will now go ahead with 25 songs taking part.”

His participation in the competition was considered ambiguous since yesterday as his attitude towards the Israeli singer disturbed the organizers at the press conference of the entries that qualified for the final. It is recalled that Joost covered his head with a red flag because he did not want to be photographed with the Israeli delegation – as a sign of protest against the war in Gaza. Then, when Eden Golan refused to answer a reporter’s question about whether her presence in the competition jeopardized the security of her missions, she pointedly said “why not?”.