After being relegated from the Eredivisie last year, Vitesse Arnhem had already had its professional license revoked, but the traditional club appealed against the ruling at the time. The appeal has now been rejected by the association.
After 35 years, Vitesse Arnhem was relegated from the Eredivisie in the summer of 2024 with only six points to its name. The traditional club had already had 18 points deducted at the time. The reason: repeated violations of the license conditions and a mountain of debt amounting to 14 million euros. The club also finished last in the second division, again due to points deductions.
Before its year in the Eerste Divisie, Vitesse had already had its license revoked last summer, but the club lodged an appeal. The Dutch football association KNVB has now rejected the appeal.
The appeals committee concluded that there had been a pattern of deception and circumvention of the licensing system rules at Vitesse over several years. In addition, the club had not been transparent, according to the KNVB. This pattern of behavior had proven to be structural, serious, and persistent. The Arnhem club can still take the association’s decision to court.
A new start in amateur football?
The KNVB also considers the elimination of the 2017 cup winner from professional football to be very unfortunate. Not only for Vitesse and its fans, but for Dutch football as a whole. Players and fans of the club expressed their shock to Dutch media. Vitesse now faces a fresh start in the obscurity of amateur football.
In addition to high debts, unclear financial and ownership structures and incomplete accounting were the reasons for the withdrawal of the license. Shortly before the KNVB appeals committee’s decision, Arnhem’s German interim managing director Timo Braasch resigned. Braasch had taken over Vitesse and the club’s debts with four other interested parties, but had regularly clashed with the KNVB.