Vitesse Arnhem win place back in Dutch professional ranks
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FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa Conference League - Play Off Second Leg - Vitesse Arnhem v SK Rapid Wien - GelreDome, Arnhem, Netherlands - February 24, 2022 Vitesse Arnhem fans inside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/ File Photo
AMSTERDAM - Vitesse Arnhem have won back their place in the second division in the Netherlands one month after they were kicked out of the professional ranks, after appealing a decision by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB).
The KNVB had found Vitesse guilty of financial irregularities and repeatedly undermining the club licensing system.
"The court suspends the decisions of the KNVB's Licensing Committee and the Appeals Committee to revoke Vitesse's professional licence and orders the KNVB to immediately reinstate Vitesse in professional football competitions," the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal found on Wednesday.
It said that the KNVB's decisions "were made under considerable time pressure and therefore were not arrived at with the utmost care" and that more due diligence had been necessary "because this is the most far-reaching sanction for a professional football club".
Several violations of the regulations on which the KNVB based their decision were also questioned.
Vitesse can return to the second tier of the Dutch league, even though four rounds of matches have already been played since the season began.
Since last month's expulsion, several players have moved on free transfers to other clubs, and the club's management has also been significantly dismantled.
However, a group of local businessmen, who have looked to take over the running of the club, look intent on seeing the team returning to action.
"We remain fully committed to Vitesse's future. Now we first need to talk to the KNVB to ensure that the right decisions are made by Vitesse and its stakeholders," said their chairman Michel Schaay.
Vitesse's professional licence was revoked in July amid allegations they were some 14-million euros ($16.39 million) in debt. "Vitesse was given opportunity after opportunity, but failed to seize it. The club showed no improvement," the KNVB stated at the time.
It meant Vitesse, who were four-time runners-up in the Dutch league but never won the championship, were then 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.
Vitesse, established in 1892 and one of the oldest clubs in the Netherlands, had been sanctioned last year and relegated to the Dutch second division because of financial irregularities. REUTERS
