AMSTERDAM :One of the Netherlands’ oldest clubs, Vitesse Arnhem, lost a final bid to save their professional licence on Friday and were effectively kicked out of the league, sparking fan protests.
The Central Netherlands Court rejected the club’s appeal to overturn a decision by the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) to revoke their professional licence.
Dutch media showed images of scuffles in Arnhem city centre as supporters gathered. One journalist was slapped, the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper reported, as anger was directed against media.
The court upheld the KNVB decision after the football association said the club had circumvented and undermined the licensing system for years and had spurned repeated opportunities to regularise their affairs, including debt reported to be around 14 million euros ($16.3 million).
The club, established in 1892, had been sanctioned last year and relegated to the Dutch second division because of financial irregularities, which the KNVB said included the absence of a bank account, the absence of a controlling accountant, and the fact that no conclusive budget could be provided.
Vitesse were the first Dutch club to have foreign owners in 2010 when Georgian businessman Merab Jordania took over the club with Russian Valeriy Oyf becoming majority owner in 2018.
The club’s financial fortunes changed drastically after sanctions that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The decision means Saturday’s scheduled match against Almere City has been cancelled and leaves the Dutch second division with 19 clubs.
In a statement, Vitesse said they were “devastated” by the verdict. “What the future holds is unclear,” the statement said.
“The club is exploring options and continues to talk to stakeholders to safeguard football in Arnhem.”
Vitesse, who were four-time runners-up in the Dutch league but never won the championship, will be forced to either continue as an amateur club or cease to exist.
The Dutch league has two divisions, but there is no mandatory promotion and relegation between the second tier of the professional competition and the amateur ranks.
“The worst-case scenario has come true,” said Arnhem’s Alderman for Sports Affairs Bob Roelofs.
“This is a tragedy for the city, for the supporters, for Vitesse. The city has lost a large part of its DNA.”
($1 = 0.8581 euros)
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
