A Dutch ice dance duo have lost their bid to represent the Netherlands in the forthcoming European Championships to a Hungarian-Italian couple who have represented the Netherlands for the past five years.

Chelsea Verhaegh and Sherim van Geffen went to court in an effort to be selected to compete for the Netherlands instead of Hanna Jakucs and Alessio Galli, but the court ruled that the Dutch ice skating union KNSB has the final say.

Verhaegh and Van Geffen claimed the Hungarian-Italian couple do not spend enough time in the Netherlands to represent the country, and the KNSB has admitted its checks on the couple’s residency have not been thorough.

The Dutch skating body said this was not sufficient to disqualify the couple but that it has now asked the international skating organisation ISU to give its opinion. The ISU will discuss the case on Thursday, but it is unclear when the decision will be announced.

The ISU rules require skaters to wait one year from their last international competition and meet residency requirements in order to represent his or her new country. Under IOC rules, to compete in the Olympics you must have the nationality of the country you want to represent.

Jakucs and Galli made their debut for the Netherlands in 2020 after approaching the KNSB two years earlier. At that time, the Netherlands did not have an ice dance couple, and the KNSB decided to use the duo as a way to boost the reputation of ice dancing in the Netherlands, which is dominated by speed skating.

Jakucs registered at an address in Eindhoven, where the couple trained, and after a time, they met the ISU’s criteria to skate for the Netherlands. Since then, they have represented the country at European and World Championships.

Given that the Netherlands only receives one spot, Verhaegh and Van Geffen must compete against Jakucs and Galli for the place and have lost out every time. This year, they decided to take the matter to court.

“We have already missed three European championships and a world championship. That is damage to our sporting career that can no longer be repaired,” Verhaegh told the NRC last week.

The European Championships take place in Tallinn from January 27 to February 2. Daria Danilova, who was born in Moscow but has had Dutch nationality since last year, and Groningen-born Michel Tsiba, will compete on behalf of the Netherlands in the pairs. Niki Wories will participate in the women’s solo figure skating competition.