At least 3 footballers allowed to play for Dutch clubs after figuring out passport woes
At least three footballers can play for Dutch professional football clubs again after figuring out their passport woes. NEC player Tjaronn Chery, FC Groningen player Etienne Vaessen, and Heracles Almelo player Djevencio van der Kus are all allowed to play again, their clubs announced, NOS reports.
The passport issue is that players like Chery, Vaessen, and Van der Kus accidentally renounced their Dutch nationality by choosing to play international matches with their country of origin, Suriname, in their case. The same thing happened to Virgil Misidjan (Suriname) of NEC, Dean James (Indonesia) and Richonell Margaret (Suriname) of Go Ahead Eagles. The players thought they had only received sports passports, but their countries naturalized them as citizens.
Dutch law stipulates that anyone who voluntarily acquires another nationality automatically loses their Dutch citizenship. The Netherlands does not allow dual nationality. As a result, these players no longer have a valid residency permit for the Netherlands and therefore cannot work here, which includes playing professional football.
According to NOS, there are two routes that the players can take to get a valid residency and work permit in the Netherlands. The first is the “EU-stamp,” a residence endorsement in their passport. Footballers who have a European partner or children are eligible for this, which is how Vaessen, Chery, and Van der Kus are back to playing for their clubs.
It is a temporary solution. The stamp means that it is being assessed whether the person can stay in the Netherlands. “During that assessment, they are already allowed to work, and therefore, play football,” Jan de Jong, director of the Eredivisie CV, explained to the broadcaster.
But players like Dean James and Richonell Margaret of Go Ahead Eagles don’t have European partners or children and therefore have to take the longer route - apply for readmission. They can be readmitted to the labor market, but they must first demonstrate that they previously worked and lived in the Netherlands. That takes more time and paperwork, and they can’t start playing until a decision has been made.
“If they then continue to live in the Netherlands for a year with this residency permit, they can then become Dutch citizens again through an optional procedure,” lawyer Hermie de Voer, specializing in nationality law, told the broadcaster. But that is still far in the future. The first priority is to get the footballers eligible to play again with a valid work and residence permit. After that, it is up to them to decide whether they want to regain their Dutch nationality, the lawyer said.
The passport issue came to light last month after NAC Breda lost 6-0 to Go Ahead Eagles. NAC Breda went to the KNVB asking to replay the match, because an Indonesian international, Dean James, was playing for Go Ahead Eagles. The KNVB declined to have the match replayed, honoring the score, but the complaint opened a whole can of worms. The KNVB instructed all clubs to check their players’ nationalities.
NEC director Wilco van Schaik told NOS that he has been working day and night on this issue over the past few weeks. “We have a lawyer who specializes in this. Well, when you see what he sends us… It really feels like I’m applying for a law master’s degree at university,” he said.
“And just one more thing,” Van Schaik added. “If we had to replay all those Eredivisie matches, we would have become a sort of Pipo the Clown league. This just happened to us. We are all in the same boat. And I would like to see us solve this together. Regardless of your position in the standings.”
