AMSTERDAM (NETHERLANDS) (ITALPRESS) – Dutch football avoids chaos. The Utrecht court has rejected the appeal of NAC Breda, which, defeated 6-0 by Go Ahead Eagles on March 15 and now at risk of relegation, had challenged Dean James’s position. According to NAC, because the player had agreed to play for Indonesia, he had lost his Dutch citizenship in accordance with the strict local rules on dual passports, and consequently, the results of all his matches should be considered invalidated.
Hence, NAC’s request to replay that match was rejected by the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB), which was ruled in favor by the Utrecht court: at the time, neither Go Ahead Eagles nor James were aware that the change of nationality would automatically entail legal consequences. The KNVB was also granted the right to decide that the match should not be replayed. This ruling averts a domino effect, given that the passport issue affects 11 players distributed among eight clubs for a total of 133 Eredivisie matches. Other clubs, such as Telstar, Volendam, and Excelsior, had already indicated that they were ready to follow in the footsteps of NAC Breda if the appeal were upheld.
– photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
