April 2 – While the Dutch top flight will remain on lockdown until June 1, the Dutch FA (KNVB) has revealed a tentative plan to finish the season by August 3.
The Eredivisie, still has nine match days remaining. The KNVB issued a statement saying it would follow UEFA’s direction to attempt to finish the season by August 3, but that play would need to resume in the second half of June at the latest. The governing body did not rule out that the season won’t be completed at all, stressing that no decision will be made without first getting permission from the authorities and public health agency RIVM.
The Dutch government extended nationwide lockdown measures until April 28, while the prime minister Mark Rutte has dismissed the idea that football, even behind closed doors, could return anytime soon. On government orders, no matches can be staged before June 1st in order to respect social distancing and the prohibition of gatherings of any size.
League leaders Ajax reacted furiously to the KNVB’s statement. “Why would it be about money and not people’s well-being at this time? I had hoped that the KNVB would take an independent decision, but they are now hiding behind Uefa,” Ajax’s technical director Marc Overmars told Dutch daily De Telegraaf.
“I think that they had been put under big pressure by UEFA to continue playing at whatever cost,” said Overmars. “I’m comparing the KNVB and UEFA with the sentiments of American president Donald Trump a week ago when he thought the economy was more important than the coronavirus.”
On March 12, professional and amateur football were suspended in the Netherlands due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. The Netherlands is bracing for the peak of the pandemic with more than 1,000 casualties so far.
The KNVB’s tentative plans followed UEFA’s teleconference on Wednesday. In a press release, the European governing body didn’t mention the August 3 deadline, but it was one of the proposals that was discussed by UEFA and the 55 member associations.
“It is impossible to make a declaration about the end of the season when we don’t yet know when we can restart. Once we have certainty on that, we can be more definitive about when to end the season,” said UEFA.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1734882781labto1734882781ofdlr1734882781owedi1734882781sni@o1734882781fni1734882781