Ajax director, Dutch football captains call for season to end immediately
The captains of the 18 Dutch clubs in the Eredivisie made contact to discuss the measures against the coronavirus being extended to April 28 and decided that they want the season to end with immediate effect. They consider the risk of infection to be too great. Ajax director Marc Overmars also wants the season to end, the Telegraaf reports.
After meeting with all EUFA member states, Dutch football association KNVB announced on Wednesday that it hopes to resume the league in mid-June. In doing so, all postponed matches can be played by the UEFA set deadline of August 3rd.
But the team captains and Overmars all agree that this is not safe or feasible. The 18 captains have no intention to let their teams play football for the time being. And if the KNVB insists, they want a letter from public health institute RIVM stating in black and white that is 100 percent safe to resume training, they decided, according to the newspaper.
Overmars feels the same about the situation. "I know that many clubs feel the same way, they just want clarity and think that the Eredivisie should no longer be played out. The Eredivisie is dead, the life is out of it, there's no more fun: call it what you want. Prime Minister Mark Rutte did not say for nothing that this is the biggest crisis since the Second World War," Overmars said to the newspaper.
"Of course we know that there will be a hundred consequences if we put a line under the league now. But they are also there if we keep playing after July 1." What will happen with players with contracts to move to other clubs, for example, he said.
According to Overmars, many footballers no longer feel like resuming the league. "And not only at Ajax. If - with the emphasis being on if - they can train again after April 28, they have been idle for almost two months," he said to the newspaper. "We are at the top, almost everyone is back in shape, so we had full confidence in getting the title. But playing now is irresponsible. KNVB, just create clarity now!"
According to the Telegraaf, the football players themselves don't have a legal foot to stand on if they refuse to play. The KNVB follows the UEFA guidelines, which state that every effort must be made to finish competitions.
