Vitesse Arnhem is the first club to be relegated from the top Dutch soccer league. The reason: the association has imposed a drastic penalty on the club
The Dutch Football Association (KNVB) has penalized Vitesse Arnhem with a deduction of 18 points. The association’s independent licensing committee justified the drastic punishment with repeated violations of licensing regulations. As a result, the club is the first to be relegated with -1 points and must leave the top Dutch league after 35 years
Vitesse accepts the fine
But Arnhem would also have been difficult to save in sporting terms. With 17 points from 30 games, the club was in last place in the Eredivisie, and not just because of the 6-0 defeat at designated champions Eindhoven. They were six points behind the relegation place currently occupied by Waalwijk.
Vitesse announced that it would not appeal against the decision. In its statement, the club admitted that, among other things, it had not submitted its half-year figures correctly and had behaved incorrectly towards a bank and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate.
Also Abramovich in focus
In addition, there are investigations into whether Vitesse has links to the sanctioned Russian oligarch and former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, whose business partner Alexander Chigrinsky made a major investment in the Dutch club in 2013. Under Abramovich’s aegis on the Thames, the two clubs subsequently enjoyed a long-standing partnership. Time and again, talented players from the Blues played for Vitesse in the Netherlands. These included Mason Mount, who spent the 2017/18 season on loan in Arnhem.