By Andrew Warshaw
April 2 – Dutch football authorities are launching an investigation into Chelsea’s links with one of their top-flight clubs, Vitesse Arnhem, following sensational – some might say fanciful – allegations in the Dutch press. Chelsea have been using Vitesse as a training club for their emerging players in recent seasons, with four of their younger players currently on loan there.
But officials at Dutch football’s governing body (KNVB) want to look into the ownership structure after former Vitesse owner Merab Jordania (pictured) made a series of remarkable allegations about the relationship between the clubs.
Jordania claimed that Vitesse had been forced to drop their Dutch title challenge under orders from “London” in order to stop Vitesse playing in the Champions League. Under UEFA rules, no two clubs under the same ownership can play in the same competition.
It is reported that Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich is a business associate of Jordania’s successor, fellow Russian tycoon Alexander Chigrinsky, who took over earlier this season.
Jordania told leading Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: “I wanted to be the champion with Vitesse, but London would ultimately not allow it. Having ambition is fine, but we were told Vitesse could not be in the Champions League with Chelsea.”
Vitesse were top at Christmas but have dropped to third. Jordania added that former coach Fred Rutten quit last year because “he would never get the chance to be champion.”
“In the winter he brought the team to the top. We had the feeling we needed one more player to win the title, Kelvin Leerdam. The transfer seemed to be a done deal when all of a sudden ‘London’ intervened. We were not allowed to be too strong. I couldn’t explain that to Fred. I had to cover the club and ‘London’, but it caused a lot of tension and chaos.”
Chelsea have made no comment as yet but Vitesse described Jordania’s allegations as “a very bad April Fools joke”. Nevertheless his claims have prompted the Dutch federation, KNVB, to ask Vitesse to provide details of its “organisational structure”.
“In the interest of the integrity of the competition, we have asked Vitesse asked to comment on their organization and the governance of the club,” said the KNVB. “We are seeking explanations and the KNVB and Vitesse have agreed to meet at short notice to discuss the matter. After these discussion, the Board will determine whether further investigation by the KNVB is needed.”
Contact the writer of this story at andrew.warshaw@insideworldfootballcom