Single man starts legal battle to legally change his age in order to boost his chances on Tinder

"You can change your name. You can change your gender. Why not your age?"

A 69-year-old pensioner from the Netherlands has started a battle to legally change his age because he feels that it will boost his dating prospects on Tinder.

Emile Ratelband wants the courts to legally change his birthday from 11 March 1949 to 11 March 1969. "You can change your name. You can change your gender. Why not your age?" he told Dutch paper De Telegraaf. Mr Ratelband believes that he's being discriminated against because of his age and that it was affecting his employment chances and his success rate on the dating app. "When I'm 69, I am limited. If I'm 49, then I can buy a new house, drive a different car. I can take up more work. When I'm on Tinder and it says I'm 69, I don't get an answer. When I'm 49, with the face I have, I will be in a luxurious position," he said. Mr Ratelband also made a point of stressing that he has the body of a 45-year-old, and described himself as a "young god". He also said he would renounce his pension if he was allowed to switch his birth date. It's reported that the court was sceptical of the lawsuit, believing that there were no legal grounds that would allow a person to change their birth date. A local court in the city of Arnhem, south-east of Amsterdam, is expected to rule on the case within four weeks.