AZ wants the KNVB to have an independent (factual) investigation carried out into the functioning of the policymakers of the football association. The Alkmaar club has that according to The Telegraph by means of a letter to the KNVB. The behavior of Jan Albers, chairman of the supervisory board of the football association, would be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
First of all, Albers would have entered into talks with the SB chairmen of Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV, with his aim being to make the introduction of the NL League (an initiative by professional clubs to take matters into their own hands) fail. That would protect the KNVB. AZ finds it striking that Albers does this, because in the past he was just before the foundation of the NL League as PSV chairman of the supervisory board.
AZ now accuses Albers of backroom politics, according to the newspaper. Where he would have indicated in KNVB meetings that he would fully cooperate with the introduction of the NL League, behind the back of director of professional football Marianne van Leeuwen he would mainly serve the interests of a limited number of clubs. Those clubs would be Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV.
In addition, the club from Alkmaar is outraged that the KNVB is being compensated to the maximum by the government for the World Cup qualifying match between the Netherlands and Norway during the corona pandemic, while the clubs in professional football are not fully compensated. The Netherlands – Norway was played in an empty stadium, but the matches in the Eredivisie and Kitchen Champion Division also took place in front of empty stands for a long time.
According to AZ, Van Leeuwen and federation chairman Just Spee also ignore letters with questions and requests. The club is also still not comfortable with the settlement of the 2019/20 season. The Eredivisie was halted at the time due to the corona pandemic, when Ajax and AZ were tied in points. Ajax received a Champions League ticket, while AZ had to settle for a Europa League ticket. In addition, the latter club was never offered compensation and the KNVB never entered into talks with AZ.
AZ sees a pattern in Zeist, with a clear club preference. The KNVB has now confirmed that it has received the letter, which was signed by AZ director Robert Eenhoorn and supervisory board chairman René Neelissen. “In principle, we do not respond substantively via the media to correspondence with our members. We have already indicated to AZ that we would like to discuss the contents of the letter, because the stated facts are incorrect. We also discussed this with them in previous signals from AZ,” the football association said. If the KNVB still disregards the investigation, AZ will not rule out going to court.