Ruud Gullit is disappointed by the procedure of the KNVB in the search for a new national coach. The soccer association has, it seems, only had serious discussions with Frank de Boer about the succession of Ronald Koeman. It stings Gullit that someone like Henk ten Cate, who indicated to be open for a conversation with the KNVB, was not invited. The former top footballer feels that the KNVB does too little to promote diversity.

In July, the KNVB formed the Mijnals committee, named after Humphrey Mijnals, the very first Dutch national ever with a Surinamese background. The committee’s goal is to ‘provide the KNVB and the central government with knowledge and, if necessary, action to help them realise their ambitions in terms of racism, discrimination and inclusiveness in football’, the association said. One of the members is Gullit, but the former assistant coach of the Dutch national football association believes that the KNVB is now making too little effort to pursue its own goals.

“If you have Ten Cate, but don’t speak to him at all, do the same as you did before”, Gullit adjusts Sunday afternoon Ziggo Sportwhere he works as an analyst. “Then you go your own way again. You put us there yourself, you want diversity, but you don’t use it.” Gullit says it’s necessary to introduce the ‘Rooney rule’, named after Dan Rooney, the now deceased former owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers from the American National Football League. At his initiative, it became mandatory for NFL clubs to have at least one candidate from a minority group apply if a new trainer or managing director is sought.

“It means you have to get people of color to talk,” Gullit explains. “It’s not necessarily about choosing them, but you have to give someone a chance. A good example was when a philharmonic orchestra needed a first violinist. That was always a man, until they let people apply behind the curtain, so they could only listen”, says the former International of Orange. “A lot of candidates were mentioned, but they didn’t come to interview at all. That was the reason why you wanted us there. But you don’t do anything with it. You don’t have to say that you’re going to talk to Frank Rijkaard, because you know he’s not going to do it. Everybody knew that.”

Gullit had hoped that the KNVB would at least deal with several candidates. “But now it turns out they only have one choice. Why is Ten Cate suddenly no longer a candidate?”, Gullit wonders. “I would also have liked it if they had been interviewed by Louis van Gaal. Just go and talk! We don’t care at all about having someone of colour as a national coach. That’s not the point at all.” Meanwhile the talks between De Boer and the KNVB are in their final stages. The union hopes to present the new national coach soon, so that he can sit on the bench for the next international games against Mexico, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy.