Vitesse Arnhem have had their professional football licence withdrawn by the Dutch FA after failing to submit a budget for next season.

The club’s hopes of playing in next season’s Keuken Kampioen Divisie now depend on the outcome of an appeal against the KNVB’s decision.

The decision by the licensing committee was widely expected after Vitesse failed to meet the terms of an extended deadline to submit paperwork. The club was relegated from the Eredivisie last season after the KNVB imposed an 18-point penalty for financial irregularities.

The licensing committee said the decision was necessary to safeguard the integrity of the competition. “If Vitesse were to take part in the league under its current circumstances, i.e. with no bank account, no accountant and without a balanced budget, the continuity of the competition would be in severe danger,” it said.

Vitesse said on Monday they were close to a deal with a Dutch investor to secure the club’s future and pay off a large share of its €19 million debts.

Investor found

Guus Franke, the Gelderland-born owner of Swiss insurance company Axiom Partners, was reported by NOS to have agreed a deal with Coley Parry, Vitesse’s biggest creditor, who has loaned the club €14.3 million to stay afloat.

Parry’s Common Group was blocked from taking over the club last season by the KNVB because of doubts about the source of the group’s finances.

Vitesse was put up for sale by its Russian owner, Valery Oyf, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

Oyf was an associate of Russian billionaire and former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who secretly invested €100 million in the Gelderland club, according to an investigation by the Guardian newspaper and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Edwin Reijntjes, the interim director appointed to steer Vitesse through the crisis, said he had anticipated the decision to refuse the professional licence and the club would appeal.

“A decision like this was in line with our expectations,” Reijntjes said. “We have not been able to submit the required information in time. As we have already indicated to the KNVB, we will be lodging an appeal directly.”

Rescue package

Omroep Gelderland reported that Guus Franke was working behind the scenes with a team of experts on a rescue package, which includes paying around €10 million to Parry to discharge Vitesse’s debts. The club would not confirm if a deal had been struck.

The 48-year-old founder of Axiom Partners was born in Ewijk and is said to have supported the club since boyhood. He also gave a €50,000 donation to political party Forum voor Democratie in 2021.

Franke’s plans will have to be agreed with the supervisory board appointed by the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam’s enterprise division at the request of the KNVB’s licensing committee.

Vitesse also held talks with American businessman Frank McCourt, the owner of French club Olympique Marseille, but he pulled out last week, apparently because of the difficulties in reaching an agreement with Parry, NOS reported.