Fortuna Sittard out of European playoff contention after failing to obtain UEFA license
Fortuna Sittard will not be participating in the play-offs for European football. The Limburg club is currently in ninth place, which ensures a spot in the play-offs, but they have not been granted a UEFA license to play in the UEFA Conference League.
Fortuna was not given the license because they did not apply for the license on time. They were not able to meet the requirements before April 8, which is the deadline. One of these requirements is an external auditor's report in accordance with the UEFA rules. The club has had financial issues for a while, making the decision to disband its women’s team earlier this year.
“We are currently busy preparing for the new Eredivisie season and in the meantime we are continuing to build on the future of the club. We expect to be able to meet the licensing requirements without any problems in the new season," the club’s general manager, Martijn Merks, said in a statement on the club’s website.“It is disappointing that we are unable to give a brilliant sporting season the reward it deserves. However, we think it is important to be transparent.”
The first team’s manager, Danny Buijs, told NOS that he is very disappointed with the situation. “I am very disappointed with the board, and I am in disbelief. I knew about the situation for a while, but I did not tell anybody. This is because I want to do our sporting duty in the league.”
The news means that there is now a European play-off spot free for the teams behind Fortuna Sittard, like Sparta Rotterdam, FC Groningen, and Heracles Almelo. There are currently just five points between 14th-place PEC Zwolle and eighth-place SC Heerenveen with two games remaining.
If Fortuna finishes eighth or ninth, then the play-off spot will move to the 10th-placed side, the Eredivisie CV reported. This means that the fifth, sixth, eighth, and 10th spots will play in the play-offs with Go Ahead Eagles, who are currently seventh, already in Europe due to their victory in the KNVB Cup.
The interest organization is said to be disappointed by the news. “To prevent these types of situations from occurring in the future, the ECV is pleading for every club in the Eredivisie to apply and obtain a European license. This ensures that everybody knows ahead of time what they are playing for, and it will be beneficial for the financial stability of football. We are striving for both of these things daily, and this also prevents disturbances in the league season,” Eredivisie CV director, Jan de Jong, said on the organization’s website.
