Vitesse responds with dismay to the decision of the KNVB appeals committee not to return the Arnhem club’s professional license. This threatens the end of the second oldest professional club in the Netherlands.
“Vitesse is dismayed by the outcome, now that the club has worked intensively in the past period on recovery, transparency and sustainability,” the club writes in a statement. The Arnhem club expects to challenge the decision in court.
“Vitesse has done everything to convince first the licensing committee, and then the appeals committee, that the decision of the licensing committee is incorrect and does not sufficiently take into account all the efforts in and for Arnhem.”
In its response, Vitesse does not address the reasons for the KNVB appeals committee not to return the professional license, because it says it has not yet had the opportunity to study the decision.
The KNVB appeals committee ruled harshly on Vitesse on Thursday. According to the committee members, the club from the Keuken Kampioen Divisie has engaged in years of deception, circumvention and undermining of the licensing system. Vitesse is also accused of a lack of transparency.
It is not yet clear when a possible summary proceedings by Vitesse will serve to obtain the professional license after all. The civil court will only examine whether the KNVB has reached a judgment in a careful manner.
The step to the court is the last opportunity for Vitesse to continue to exist. Clarity will have to come quickly: next week Friday the new season starts in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie.