FC Twente stripped of points as financial problems mount

Dutch football association KNVB will punish FC Twente for its "too ambitious" financial plan by deducting three points from the team. Twente has announced further measures to meet its budget, including taking the reserve team Jong FC Twente out of Jupiler League competition. FC Twente has been struggling with financial difficulties since at least April 2014 and the new financial plan was not good enough for KNVB's licence commission. The plan is too ambitious and what the team is trying to achieve in a year, could be spread over a period of three years, said Gerald van den Belt, the chief financial officer of the team. "Twente is critically looking at staffing, on and off the field. Contractual raises have been canceled and will be re-examined at the end of the season. These are hard measures to be taken, but financial recovery of FC Twente is now an absolute priority," van den Belt stated. Through the cuts, the reserve team Jong FC Twente will be dropped from the Jupiler League. The team however plans to take part in the league next year. Twente's budget for this season stands at 44.5-million euros. The club's performance sharply improved under the leadership vice chairman Joop Munsterman in recent years, but after the championship title in 2010 costs increased tremendously. The three point deduction will drop FC Twente from eighth place in Eredivisie to ninth place.