Vitesse Arnhem lose last bid to save professional status, angering supporters
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
Truth Social host Rumble weighs near $1.2 billion deal for Northern Data
Video platform Rumble, which hosts U.S. President Donald Trump's Truth Social, is weighing boosting its global AI cloud capabilities by acquiring Germany's Northern Data, the companies said. Rumble said it was considering making an offer for the company which would give it control of Northern Data's cloud business, Taiga, and its large-scale data center arm, Ardent, with plans to integrate both into its own operations. The Taiga cloud unit holds a significant inventory of Nvidia graphics processing unit (GPU) chips, including around 20,480 H100s and over 2,000 H200s, Rumble said. "Following consummation of the potential transaction, Tether would become an important customer of Rumble, with a multi-year commitment to purchase GPUs," Rumble said. Under a potential exchange offer, Tether is expected to be Rumble's largest single holder of its class A common stock and the majority of voting rights would continue to lie with Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski, Rumble said. Tether currently owns 48 per cent of Rumble, according to LSEG data. It invested $775 million in the video platform in December last year. Tether holds 54 per cent of Northern Data, according to Rumble. Rumble is considering offering 2.319 shares for each Northern Data share, both companies said. The proposed offer values Northern Data at about $18.3 per share, based on Reuters calculations, and represents a discount of about 32 per cent to the German company's last closing price in Frankfurt. Reuters calculated the potential total deal value at approximately $1.17 billion. A deal on the current terms would result in Northern Data shareholders owning about 33.3 per cent of Rumble's shares. The offer launch would be subject to due diligence, among other things. Northern Data said on Monday that its board was evaluating Rumble's potential offer and is open for further discussions. Tether has expressed support for the transaction, according to the statements. However, the companies said there was no certainty that the discussions would ultimately result in a formal offer for the German group. Tether had no immediate comment. CRYPTO MINER SALE Rumble went public in December 2021 via a SPAC deal. Earlier that year it said its investors included tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Narya, an investment firm co-founded by JD Vance, now U.S. vice president. The proposed deal would also involve Northern Data selling its crypto mining business, Peak Mining, and using the proceeds to repay part of an existing loan from Tether to Northern Data, Rumble said. Tether loaned Northern Data 575 million euros almost two years ago to expand its own business.
CNA
8 hours ago
- CNA
Dortmund defender Suele out for two months with muscle injury
BERLIN -Borussia Dortmund defender Niklas Suele will be sidelined for about two months after picking up a calf muscle injury in Sunday's pre-season friendly against Juventus, the Bundesliga club said on Monday. The 29-year-old centre-back came on for Mats Hummels after 18 minutes but was taken off at halftime in the 2-1 loss, having suffered the problem without the involvement of another player. Suele will miss this week's German Cup first-round tie at Essen and the first part of the Bundesliga season, with Dortmund kicking off their league campaign at St Pauli on August 23.
CNA
8 hours ago
- CNA
Atletico sign Italy forward Raspadori from Napoli
Atletico Madrid have signed Italy forward Giacomo Raspadori from Napoli on a five-year contract, the LaLiga club said on Monday, with Italian media reporting that the deal is worth a total of 26 million euros ($30.14 million). Raspadori began his career with Sassuolo, before joining Napoli on a loan deal in 2022, winning the Serie A title in his first campaign at the club, with the move made permanent at the end of that season. The 25-year-old won his second Scudetto with Napoli last season, and has made a total of 88 league appearances for the club, scoring 13 goals, but the majority of his game time has come from the bench. ($1 = 0.8625 euros)
