One of the oldest clubs in the Netherlands, Vitesse Arnhem, lost a final bid to save his professional license on Friday and was effectively kicked out of the competition, which led fan protests.
The Court of Central -the Netherlands rejected the club’s appeal to destroy a decision by the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) to withdraw their professional license.
Dutch media showed images of Scuffles in the center of Arnhem when supporters gathered. One journalist was beaten, the newspaper Algemeen Dagblad reported, while anger was directed against media.
The court confirmed the KNVB decision after the football club said that the club had been bypassed and undermined the licensing system for years and had rejected repeated possibilities to regularize their affairs, including debts that were around 14 million euros ($ 16.3 million).
The club, founded in 1892, was punished last year and relegated to the Dutch Second Division due to financial irregularities, the KNVB said that the absence of a bank account, the absence of a controlling accountant, and the fact that no conclusive budget could be provided.
Vitesse was the first Dutch club to have foreign owners in 2010 when the Georgian businessman Merab Jordania took over the club with the Russian Valeriy Oyf in 2018 became a majority owner.
The financial fortunes of the club changed drastically after sanctions that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The decision means that the planned match on Saturday against Almere City has been canceled and leaving the Dutch Second Division with 19 clubs.
In a statement, Vitesse said it was «destroyed» by the verdict. «What the future is in store is unclear,» said the statement.
«The club is investigating options and continues to talk to stakeholders to protect football in Arnhem.»
Vitesse, which became four -time second in the Dutch competition but never won the championship, will be forced to continue as an amateur club or to stop existing.
The Dutch League has two divisions, but there is no mandatory promotion and relegation between the second layer of the professional competition and the amateur ranks.
«The worst-case scenario has been released,» 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 his DNA.»
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