Vitesse will retain its license for the time being. The Arnhem club has been deducted 18 points, according to the licensing committee of the Dutch Football Association (KNVB). Due to the points penalty, Vitesse has been officially relegated.
“Although this is a dark day for everything and everyone who cares about Vitesse, this is the harsh reality,” said interim general manager Edwin Reijntjes in a statement. “After all, such a punishment was inevitable. On the other hand, we are extremely happy with the opportunity offered to us to retain our license. This too was hanging by a thread. However, it is clear in the response of the licensing committee that there is confidence in the club’s new direction. We cling to that and we will continue with it.”
The club will not appeal against the punishment. “The club wants to focus on retaining the license. Such an appeal will not contribute to this,” the club reports.
Vitesse already saw the punishment coming. “A points penalty had been hanging over the club’s head for quite some time. Having previously received a fine of 100,000 euros for failure to report the termination of the banking relationship by Revolut, such a penalty seemed unavoidable,” it said in a statement. After all, the club was unable to meet certain licensing requirements.
Vitesse had 17 points after thirty matches, which means a points total of -1. There are still four matches to play. The Arnhem team has played in the Eredivisie for the past three and a half decades. Since 1989, Vitesse has finished fourth eight times. It achieved its best result in 1998, with a third place in the Eredivisie behind Ajax and PSV. The club played in the cup final five times and won the 2017 one against AZ.
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