On September 3rd, the Dutch court ruled in summary proceedings that Vitesse must be provisionally re-admitted to professional football. The former Eredivisie club had their professional licence revoked by the KNVB in June after "structurally evading the licencing system" in the years prior.
During civil court proceedings in August, a judge ruled in favour of the KNVB's decision to revoke Vitesse's licence. Vitesse launched an appeal and won the case in early September, meaning the club were getting their professional licence back and returned to the Dutch second tier.
Now, the KNVB will appeal the latest verdict to the Supreme Court. The football association says it's lodging the appeal "in the interest of all of professional football."
"The aim is to obtain clarity on the manner in which the court may review decisions made by bodies of the KNVB (in this case, the licensing committee and the appeals committee for licensing matters). The association also wants clarity on various considerations of the court that affect the functioning of the licensing system for professional football," the KNVB said in a statement.
Confidence in licensing system
After the appeals case in September, the Arnhem-Leeuwarden court acknowledged that Vitesse had broken the rules but stated in an explanation published on Wednesday evening that there were insufficient grounds to revoke Vitesse's licence.
The court found it unproven that "Vitesse continued to adopt an uncooperative attitude during the appeal proceedings and that there is a pattern of violation of its duty to provide information that has continued after August 2024."
In the KNVB's statement, director of football Marianne van Leeuwen said the football association have proper legal grounds to appeal the court's decision to reinstate Vitesse's licence.
"We have confidence in the licensing system," Van Leeuwen said. "The court previously confirmed this confidence, but then the Court of Appeal ruled otherwise. Now, supported by legal advice, we have decided to take the matter to the highest court.
In the meantime, we are continuing to work well with Vitesse: all matches have been scheduled and the club is being treated in the same way as other clubs."
No verdict before season's end
Meanwhile, Vitesse said they were disappointed by the KNVB's decision to appeal to the Supreme Court.
"Unfortunately, this decision by the KNVB has a direct impact on Vitesse. We have been on the right track as a club in recent months and believed we were engaged in constructive dialogue with the KNVB. This appeal certainly affects us, but we will not be deterred and will continue to work on the future of Vitesse," interim director Bert Mansvelder said in a club statement.
A verdict from the Supreme Court is not expected until after the end of the current football season.