Champions League: Dutch FA cancels Eredivisie games before Ajax meet Tottenham

Last updated on 19 April 2019.From the section European Football194

Ajax players celebrate their victory over Juventus — Ajax beat Italian giants Juventus to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League

Dutch football chiefs have cancelled a full round of Eredivisie fixtures before Ajax meet Tottenham in the Champions League semi-finals.

Ajax were set to play De Graafschap on Sunday, 28 April, then travel to Spurs for the first leg on Tuesday, 30 April.

The Dutch FA, the KNVB, said the decision to cancel top-flight fixtures was taken to give Ajax "at least two full days of rest between games".

"Not only Ajax, but all Dutch football benefits from this," it said.

All games have been cancelled to avoid Ajax and De Graafschap playing at the end of the season once other games have taken place, potentially compromising the competition.

The round of fixtures will instead be played on Wednesday, 15 May - subject to local authorities and police agreeing to the date changes.

The KNVB said the change was needed because Ajax were in the Champions League semi-finals, the Dutch Cup final and challenging for the Eredivisie title - but stressed it was about player welfare and not a decision designed to give the team an advantage over the Premier League side.

It added clubs agreed when the fixture list was compiled at the start of the season that changes may need to be made in "the very small chance that one of the clubs would go that far in the Champions League".

The KNVB met clubs on Thursday to discuss the plans - and it admitted many were not happy about the change.

Professional football director Eric Gudde said: "We are aware that it is impossible to satisfy everyone, but a knot must be made.

"There can be no question of full satisfaction because this is ultimately not pleasant for any of the people involved. What is really nice is the reason why this was necessary: the semi-final place of Ajax in the Champions League."

He also explained why all fixtures had to be cancelled, not just De Graafschap v Ajax. "That would mean that only this match was played after 12 May," he said.

"Clubs and fans deserve a fair and as exciting as possible end to the competition, hence the starting point of playing simultaneously on the last two match days.

"Ajax plays for the championship and De Graafschap is in the danger zone for relegation. Not only would the denouement remain in one game that is played later, this also gives De Graafschap more time to prepare for this perhaps decisive game than the other relegation candidates."

Gudde said moving the Ajax game back to 26 or 27 April was not possible because it would clash with King's Day celebrations in Amsterdam, one of the city's largest festivals, and cause "insurmountable problems".

Spurs play West Ham United at 12:30 BST on Saturday, 27 April. However, their league fixture against Bournemouth at 20:00 on Monday, 6 May - two days before the second leg of their semi-final - is expected to be moved by the Premier League.

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194 comments

Comment posted by Michael Lewis, at 09:25 19 Apr 2019
Brilliant. Nice to see a country's FA actually support their clubs. Hell would freeze over before the English FA even thought of doing something like this.
Comment posted by Captain Savage, at 09:27 19 Apr 2019
This is what happens when TV money doesn't run the game; common-sense decisions surrounding scheduling can be made. Also, well done to Ajax, a truly great team to watch at the minute who I hope go all the way.
Comment posted by Richard Clock, at 09:28 19 Apr 2019
Meanwhile in England, It is reported that the FA having given Liverpool and Spurs and extra fixture a day before their Champions League matches. Representatives from the FA have said "It's great that English clubs are in the Champions League Semi Finals - but really we just don't care".
Comment posted by Razor Sharpster, at 09:35 19 Apr 2019
A FA that cares about how well one of its teams does in an external competition, tries to be fair to everyone & not worried about TV rights?

Johnny Foreigner sure does things weird, what about the money? The armchair fan? The global economy? Murdoch's fat pocket?

They have a lot to learn....
Comment posted by shady tree, at 09:35 19 Apr 2019
It's called the premier league and it's run by the t.v. companies, the f.a. have no power too change fixtures
Comment posted by pats86, at 09:44 19 Apr 2019
It won't happen here in England because money talks, TV revenues are more important to the FA than European success.
Comment posted by Citybluesince1966, at 09:41 19 Apr 2019
Well done Dutch FA. Why can't Prem league bosses work with TV companies and clubs to do similar for English teams?
Comment posted by User0642132446, at 10:11 19 Apr 2019
Sensible. Shows what can be done when money and pay TV doesn't rule the roost

Next step the beeb shows the final live. Sounds more ridiculous than going to Mars doesn't it?
Comment posted by BlueStig, at 09:48 19 Apr 2019
I've never understood why the PL don't assist our teams in Europe. There must be a lot of pressure from Sky, but surely a successful English team in Europe is good for our League, and will bring more fans, thus more sponsorship.
Comment posted by Laura Kuenssberg is a Tory and BBC dont care, at 11:30 19 Apr 2019
This, ladies and gentlemen, is how a FA acts when their priority is their clubs and not how much money they can make.

Bravo Dutch FA 👏👏👏
Comment posted by The Cloud, at 09:35 19 Apr 2019
Well done, Dutch FA. Over to you, English FA!!! Oh, but our teams play four more games than they do in the Netherlands! That's four games too many!
Comment posted by martimart1170, at 11:28 19 Apr 2019
Well Done to the Dutch FA.
Comment posted by littlelegs, at 12:14 19 Apr 2019
Forward thinking, proactive and logical thinking by the Dutch FA. it’s almost too obvious to suggest the English FA follow suit and at least reschedule the Westham game, however the English FA decision makers are not suitable for the positions they hold and are also submissive to there Pay master of SKY, BT etc.
Comment posted by Robert Arthur, at 10:06 19 Apr 2019
A national association that actually supports its clubs?............. Nah, that can't be true....... Well done KNVB- superb decision.
Comment posted by Barry, at 10:45 19 Apr 2019
English football stopped being a sport when the agents moved in. It's a multi million pound business...nothing more,nothing less. Get over it.
Comment posted by CorneliusR, at 12:07 19 Apr 2019
All I can say is.. it's a shame one of Ajax or Spurs has to be eliminated. How they got to the semi-finals was incredible.
Comment posted by philp mckinney, at 13:21 19 Apr 2019
All the moaners about this decision. The same people who moan about EVERYTHING!! Dutch FA giving one of their clubs a chance to perform at their best in a Champions League semi final. What's the problem? The same decision would have been made if PSV, Feyenoord etc. had of reached the same stage. Stop complaining. Enjoy life!
Comment posted by bluenotredbirds, at 17:50 19 Apr 2019
The Dutch FA have just said - stuff you SKY- we are more interested in our teams than the dosh - fanntastic
Comment posted by Roy of the Rovers, at 13:57 19 Apr 2019
Good for them, it's nice to see some commonsense come into play every now and then with regards to flexibility. Would never happen over here of course because our League is bought and paid for by Sky who control everything.
Comment posted by Oh Hello, at 15:25 19 Apr 2019
I see many many comments about how money rules the English FA, i also hear people saying the players are paid too much. The reality is that all the mugs that pay for a subscription are the ones lining the pockets of the overplayed players so stop your whining.