The ailing Vitesse only has two months left to avoid bankruptcy. The rescue operation is temporarily delayed by arguments and a stranglehold contract. “And we don’t have time.”
Edwin Reijntjes slaakt een zucht tijdens de vijftig minuten durende persconferentie op Sportcentrum Papendal. “Ik kan niet aangeven hoe groot de kans is dat we het redden, want er liggen zoveel dossiers. Het is echt, echt, echt een heel zorgelijke situatie.”
Samen met Paul van der Kraan is interim-directeur Reijntjes begin deze maand bij Vitesse begonnen de club van de ondergang te redden. Wie crisismanager Reijntjes woensdag hoort, krijgt al snel het idee dat de reddingsoperatie een houdiniact belooft te worden.
Want na de historische achttien punten in mindering en degradatie uit de Eredivisie zijn bezuinigingen, een halvering van het personeelsbestand met 110 medewerkers en een goed woordje bij de onafhankelijke licentiecommissie van de KNVB niet genoeg om het noodlijdende Vitesse overeind te houden.
Terwijl de club komende maand fans vraagt een seizoenkaart te nemen zonder te weten of Vitesse in juli nog bestaat, is achter de schermen een hoog spel gaande. Met een Rus, een Amerikaan, een bikkelharde stadionbaas en twee dominante crisismanagers in de hoofdrol.
‘Problems arose after Parry’s arrival’
Vitesse’s biggest problem, says Reijntjes, is that the club is still in the hands of the Russian Valeri Oyf two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Its ownership is a thorn in the side of the KNVB and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, even though Oyf is not on the international sanctions lists. He is prepared to cancel the outstanding debt of 155 million euros.
In September 2022, Vitesse thought it had found a new owner in the American Coley Parry of investment company The Common Group. This would free the club from the Russian legacy.
But the KNVB’s independent licensing committee rejected the takeover a year and a half later, because Parry could not demonstrate where his money came from. “And then the current problems arose,” says Reijntjes.
Because Parry appears to have made agreements with Oyf and the then top people of Vitesse: Pascal van Wijk, Peter Rovers and Henk Parren. These were about what would happen if the licensing committee rejected the intended takeover. It reads like agreements from a strict contract.
Afspraken bij blokkade overname Parry
- Vitesse begint bij de KNVB een tijdrovende beroepsprocedure;
- Vitesse mag in de tussentijd de aandelen van de Russische eigenaar niet overnemen;
- op last van een boete mag Vitesse ook niet actief op zoek naar een nieuwe eigenaar;
- Vitesse moet Parry compenseren met een onbekend geldbedrag als de club eronderuit wil.
‘It’s a strange situation’
According to Reijntjes, all these agreements now hold Vitesse in its grip. The club is not expected to hear until May whether Parry’s appeal will be granted. Crisis managers Van der Kraan and Reijntjes cannot wait for that statement: they must submit a balanced budget to the KNVB by June 15. Otherwise the club will cease to exist.
The ailing Vitesse certainly does not have the money to pay a claim. “It is a strange situation,” Reijntjes acknowledges. “Otherwise we would have made progress a long time ago.” Lawyers are now examining whether an escape for Vitesse is possible.
If Parry loses the appeal with the KNVB, all claims and agreements will lapse. That leaves a loan of 14 million euros, including an interest of more than 10 percent, which is converted into a debt.
Over de auteur
Jeroen van Barneveld volgt de reddingsoperatie van Vitesse voor NU.nl.
‘Parry sees me as a threat’
Until then, Parry has been sidelined by Van der Kraan and Reijntjes. Reijntjes: “Anyone who wants something from Vitesse must contact Paul or me from April 2. Also Coley Parry. Parry was not used to that. He is an American who thinks: ‘who pays, who decides’. We now see him as an important creditor. There is contact, but he sees me as a huge threat.”
Parry previously accused Reijntjes of damaging him, but the interim director brushed that aside. He is not after power. “I am only here for Vitesse. Not for a Russian or Coley Parry. I understand very well that someone who has invested 14 million euros in the club is fighting to the end to get the shares. But it is a dead end.”
Even if Parry wins the appeal, according to Reijntjes, the problems at Vitesse are not solved. “I don’t think Vitesse is saved then. That is a pyrrhic victory. Then he has the club, but then he also has to take over a deficit of 5 million euros for the new season and pay many millions more for this season.” With a sense of irony: “Paul and I won’t be there, I don’t think.”
Stadium owner criticizes ‘drivers without a chance’
Michael van de Kuit’s recent interest in Oyf shares therefore seemed like a godsend for Vitesse. The Quote 500 millionaire is not popular in Arnhem, because as owner of the GelreDome he has taken a tough stance against Vitesse in recent years. Nevertheless, he is one of the richest people around the club.
The flirt turned into a breakup after less than three weeks. After an exploratory meeting with an advisor from Van de Kuit, Reijntjes only wanted to continue talking if Van de Kuit himself joined the discussion. But he was abroad. Van de Kuit then mentioned Van der Kraan and Reijntjes Omroep Gelderland “unsuccessful directors”. “Vitesse forgets that they need me. I don’t need Vitesse.”
That annoyed Reijntjes. “I only read in the newspaper what he doesn’t want, that the board is nothing and that he doesn’t need Vitesse. Yet we have contact by email. I would like to talk, but then he has to respond. We have to deal with everyone the table, because in a few weeks it could be over with Vitesse.”
That realization does not yet seem to have dawned on the middle class in Arnhem. According to Vitesse’s agreements with Parry, Reijntjes is not allowed to actively look for investors himself, and no lender has yet emerged in Arnhem. The old backers, known as the Friends of Vitesse, are also keeping quiet.
No one has called yet and said: I want to pay 10 million euros or 5 million euros,” says Reijntjes. “It is difficult. People say: I support the club, but when push comes to shove, a group of people have to come together and put money on the table. But there are always people who say: I don’t want to be with that one, because I think it’s a dick. There are many challenges and one thing is missing: time.”
Vitesse praat vrijdag met licentiecommissie
Vitesse presenteert vrijdag het beoogde reddingsplan aan de vijf leden van de onafhankelijke licentiecommissie van de KNVB, die bepalen of de club volgend seizoen een proflicentie krijgt. Interim-directeur Edwin Reijntjes vindt dat “heel bijzonder”.
“De licentiecommissie was niet echt happig, omdat er het afgelopen anderhalf jaar zoveel is gebeurd. Er is daar enorm veel wantrouwen en negativiteit richting Vitesse. Ik zie het als een enorme stap voorwaarts dat we aan tafel kunnen en kunnen uitleggen wat we willen. We zitten hier om van Vitesse een normale en fatsoenlijke club maken.”
Om een vraag te kunnen stellen dien je in te loggen. Log in of maak binnen 1 minuut jouw gratis account aan.
Direct inloggen
Gratis account aanmaken
Tags: Arguments strangling contract delay Vitesse rescue operation worrying Football
-
