Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 7:01 PM• Wessel Antes • Last update: 19:20

Daphne Koster, the manager of the Ajax women’s team, has in the documentary series On the way to the top opened a book about the ‘Overmarsgate’. Koster says, among other things, that there was fear among players to sound the alarm. The docuseries will air in full on July 6, but The Parool has already published some quotes.

It is the first time in months that someone from Ajax itself speaks out about the events. According to The Parool the club is hardly willing to cooperate, women do not report and Overmars refuses to talk at all. Koster does not indicate in the documentary whether they, or other football players, received unwanted messages. Names are not mentioned. She does go into the reason why it all came out after a long time. “You don’t say anything about it because you know, it’s the technical director anyway and you can’t prove it. They are stories,” says Koster.

The manager continues. “You get into an environment where a lot of people are already saying, ‘What are those women doing here?’ Then you also know: if you are going to raise this issue, it is easiest for you to leave. There is a fear of reporting it, because then you will be out. That ensures that something like this can thrive in an organization.” Overmars was forced to resign as technical director at Ajax at the beginning of February, because he was guilty of transgressive behaviour.

Although there was no further explanation after a short statement, Ajax engaged an external agency that investigated the culture within the club. An external agency’s investigation revealed the ‘serious nature’ of Overmars’ behavior. During the announcement of the departure, Ajax itself already admitted that this had taken place ‘during a longer period’. According to The Parool this is exactly in line with statements made by Koster in the documentary.