Vitesse is fighting against the KNVB in a crucial court case on Thursday to ensure the club’s survival. If the judge rules in favor of the football association, Vitesse will be permanently removed from professional football. The hearing is expected to attract a lot of attention.
Will Vitesse pull off another escape act? Or is this the end for the second oldest professional club in the Netherlands (since 1892)? Instead of a ball hitting the inside or outside of the post, a judge will decide the fate of Vitesse in one of the most important court cases ever in Dutch professional football starting on Thursday.
Vitesse had to surrender its professional license to the KNVB last week due to years of deception, circumvention, and a lack of transparency. Without that license, a club cannot participate in professional football. Therefore, Vitesse, who won the KNVB Cup in 2017, is in danger of ceasing to exist. The judge is the last hope for the club.
The court case has been a major topic in Arnhem for days. It promises to be a busy scene at the court in Utrecht. The Vitesse supporters association called on its fans on Tuesday to come to the hearing in large numbers “to show the judge what Vitesse truly means.”
The supporters association has even arranged four buses to transport 220 fans to the court. There is room for a maximum of two hundred fans in the courtroom. They can follow the case in a separate room via a video connection. The rest will have to wait outside. Fans can also go to some Arnhem pubs, which will open earlier to broadcast the court case.
Hearing starts at 1:30 PM
The summary proceedings at the Midden-Nederland court in Utrecht will begin on Thursday at 1:30 PM. The court case can also be followed via a livestream and a live blog on NU.nl. The Vitesse supporters association has called on its fans to come to the court with flags, banners, and scarves. However, banners and cheering are prohibited in the courtroom. All fans must also pass through a security checkpoint.
Poor prospects for Vitesse
The prospects for Vitesse are poor, according to sports law lawyers Maarten Schepel and Tim Wilms earlier in a conversation with NU.nl. The judge will not completely redo the complex case of Vitesse and take the place of the KNVB.
“The judge will only overturn the decisions of the KNVB if the rules have not been applied correctly or if he or she finds that the decision is extremely unreasonable,” said Schepel, who assisted Fortuna Sittard in the successful lawsuit against the KNVB in 2009 regarding the club’s survival.
“If the judge finds one or two points that are serious enough to overturn the decision of the appeals committee, that may be enough.” Lawyer Niek Entzinger of Vitesse will have searched for this with a magnifying glass since the lawsuit was filed.
It will become clear during the hearing on Thursday whether these have been found. It seems unimaginable that the KNVB has made major errors in such an important file, in which Vitesse has been given several extensions and opportunities to resolve the problems.
Vitesse does have trump cards
Vitesse does have trump cards in hand, according to lawyer Wilms. “The social interests are in favor of Vitesse. It is a club with dozens of employees, which provides employment in the region.” More than fifteen thousand people go to GelreDome Stadium every two weeks.
A group of regional investors also wants to save Vitesse from destruction. The financiers guarantee the deficit of 2.5 million euros in this season’s budget and also want to take over all shares from the four foreign owners.
This would allow Vitesse to complete the season, although the rescue plan has loose ends according to the appeals committee of the KNVB. Earlier, Vitesse had already arranged a bank account and an accountant, which are important conditions for obtaining a professional license.
But Vitesse seems to be mainly judged on the past. “You are not going to make that past right anymore, so that cannot be solved anymore,” said Schepel. “With new directors, you can say that things went terribly wrong in the past, but that you now have everything in order.”
Wilms sees more possibilities. “The Central Players Council and the Central Coaches Council have given a positive assessment of Vitesse. I also wonder if the club is not now being punished twice for the same facts. Vitesse has already received penalties in the past year. But I would have given Vitesse more of a chance at the appeals committee of the KNVB than in a summary proceeding.”
Judge will rule before Saturday
During the hearing, it will become clear when the judge will rule. A spokesperson for the court said earlier that the judge will make a decision before Saturday. On that day, Vitesse would start the season in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie with an away match against Almere City.
After the withdrawal of the professional license, all league matches of Vitesse have been removed from the program by the KNVB in line with the rules. If Vitesse is vindicated, the program will be restored and the team of German coach Rüdiger Rehm will still travel to Almere on Saturday.
Pending the court case, the Vitesse selection has continued to train normally. On Sunday, the Arnhem team played a practice match against Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln. They lost 7-4.