Dutch clubs join Ajax director Marc Overmars in wanting Eredivisie season declared over
AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven join Ajax in wanting the season to be abandoned
By Reuters
Last Updated: 02/04/20 9:18pm
Ajax technical director Marc Overmars has expressed astonishment at plans to try to complete the Dutch league season and compared the country's football association and UEFA to Donald Trump.
Overmars' irritated reaction came after the Dutch football association (KNVB) issued a statement saying it would follow UEFA's direction to attempt to finish the season suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak by August 3.
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In light of the statement by the Dutch FA, a UEFA spokesman told Sky Sports News: "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."
On Thursday, AZ Alkmaar, who are behind Ajax in the league on goal difference, and PSV Eindhoven added their voices to a call made by the former Barcelona and Arsenal midfielder.
On Wednesday, Overmars told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: "The league is dead, life is more important.
"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."
The Dutch FA were among 55 members of European football's governing body, who on Wednesday, discussed possible next steps for football on the continent following the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The KNVB issued a statement saying it would follow UEFA's desire to try and complete the season, even if it meant re-starting the suspended campaign in mid-June and playing through into August.
"I have a lot of difficulty understanding that," Overmars added.
"We in the Netherlands are not as dependant on television rights incomes as the leagues in Spain, England, Italy and Germany are.
"I think that they had been put under big pressure by UEFA to continue playing at whatever cost.
"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.
"Hallo! There are more than a 100 people dying daily in the Netherlands because of the coronavirus."
AZ technical director Robert Eenhoorn told Dutch media: "We find the current coronavirus situation extremely concerning and think to complete the rest of the season behind closed doors in irrelevant."
"Plus, there is still a lot of uncertainty about how the virus outbreak will continue to develop," he added.
"We cannot find any justifiable reason to restart the season," PSV technical director Toon Gerbrands said.
Feyenoord said they felt it better to wait and see how things develop over the coming weeks.
"An uncompleted competition is unsatisfactory for everybody, players as well as supporters," Feyenoord technical director Mark Koevermans said.
Club Brugge could be crowned Belgian champions early after the Jupiler Pro League's board of directors recommended the season should be ended early because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week 17 of the country's 24 first and second-division clubs many facing potential financial ruin - wrote to the professional league authorities calling for the rest of the season to be cancelled.
