A Dutch speed-skater has been accused of flipping the bird during a medal ceremony at the Winter Olympics after coming second in the men's 1,500-meter final.

Sjinkie Knegt appeared to be discreetly giving the middle finger underneath his plush toy version of the Olympic mascot Soohorang which is given to medallists during the ceremonies.

Knegt crossed the finish line approximately two blade lengths behind South Korea's Lim Hyo-jun in Pyeongchang on Saturday.

Lil flip: Sjinkie Knegt appeared to be discreetly flipping the bird during a medal ceremony at the Winter Olympics after coming second in the men's 1,500-meter speed-skating final

Knegt the current world record holder for men's 1,500m speedskating, earned silver, while bronze went to Semen Elistratov from Russia.

'I went in front a little too early, with about five laps to go,' Knegt said afterwards.

'I was not really prepared for that. Lim had a little more acceleration at the end. He was the best today.'

Despite the humble comments and being seen patting Lim on his helmet after the two crossed the finish line, Knegt appeared to be making the rude hand-gesture during the ceremony.

South Korea's Lim Hyojun and Netherlands' Sjinkie Knegt compete in the men's 1,500m short track speed skating final event during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games

He's got form: Knegt is seen giving two middle fingers up after losing the men's 5,000m relay final during the European Championships in 2014

Sore loser: Knegt made some very animated gestures behind the back of winner Victor Ahn

Knegt later defended himself, saying it was pure co-incidence; 'It looked like I put up the middle finger. It's not intended,' he was quoited saying in Korea Times.

'I just looked very bad in the photo, but it was not on purpose. I was just holding the medal.'

However, it would not be the first time Knegt has let his middle-finger do the talking after narrowly missing out on gold.

After coming second in the men's 5,000m relay final of the ISU European Short Track speed skating Championships in Dresden in 2014, Knegt gave two fingers up to the winner, Russia's Victor Ahn.

Officials disqualified Knegt for his post-race meltdown and stripped him of his silver in the relay and an individual bronze.