Ajax to keep Alex Kroes despite insider trading scandal, but won’t be CEO
The Supervisory Board at Ajax has voted to keep Alex Kroes on as an executive, but only after he stepped down as their chief executive officer and executive board chair, the Amsterdam football club announced on Thursday. Kroes was suspended by the club after it emerged that he bought more than 17,000 publicly-traded shares in Ajax, a listed company, roughly one week before his appointment as CEO was made public.
Kroes will remain with the club as its technical director if a final agreement is reached, the club wrote in a statement. “Should it be determined by an authorised authority at any time that there has been a serious violation of insider trading rules, the Supervisory Board will also reconsider Kroes’ position as titular technical director,” Ajax wrote.
The purchase of shares may have violated Article 14 of the European Market Abuse Regulation regarding insider trading, which prohibits the use of non-public information when trading stocks. An investigation by Dutch financial markets regulator AFM was believed to be ongoing.
“We are not deaf to the voices around us and have spoken extensively with people within and outside Ajax over the past weeks, including the Executive Board and, of course, with Alex himself,” said Supervisory Board Chair Michael van Praag. “The club needs to move forward, and we believe it is good for Ajax that we ultimately reached this solution together.”
Van Praag himself was no stranger to controversy. Days after the issue with Kroes surfaced earlier this month, it became clear that Van Praag’s own holdings in Ajax were not reported to the AFM. Such a disclosure was supposed to be made within two weeks of Van Praag’s confirmation as a member of the supervisory board. Van Praag blamed Ajax for the failed disclosure.
“I am very pleased we found a suitable solution. We have put the interests of Ajax and football first together; the focus at Ajax must be on football again,” Kroes said. “We need everyone’s support to finish this season as well as possible. At the same time, we will jointly start working decisively for the new season.”
The news may explain earlier reports on Thursday that Ajax made their first offer to English manager Graham Potter for the manager position for next season. It was reported that Potter, whose last job was as manager of the English Premier League club Chelsea, rejected the first offer but thinks that the job suits him from a football perspective.
The Ajax fans have shown their support for Kroes in recent matches, unveiling banners in support of the former AZ Alkmaar director. There were also chants of “Van Praag, take your mess with you,” as fans turned on the former KNVB director.
The Ajax men's team has had a very disappointing season and are fighting to avoid the playoffs for European football. The club did not help their cause on Wednesday evening, drawing at home to relegation candidates Excelsior.