FC Volendam captain says sorry for striking statement: ‘Maybe hope that Vitesse goes bankrupt’

FC Volendam captain says sorry for striking statement: ‘Maybe hope that Vitesse goes bankrupt’ | Football

It has been coming for a while, but after the defeat against Ajax there is no escaping it: FC Volendam is saying goodbye to the Premier League after two seasons after a very turbulent year. Captain Damon Mirani was the bitch on social media afterwards after he said that the club might still have to hope that Vitesse would go bankrupt. He came back to that later.

“Of course you have been in a situation where this could happen for some time, but it sucks,” captain Damon Mirani said afterwards. ESPN. ,,You put in a good series for Excelsior. Then you are beaten, you also lose at Sparta, and then it is difficult. Maybe you should hope that Vitesse goes bankrupt and points are taken away from clubs. But you have no influence on that,” he then said.

These statements went down the wrong way with many people. Mirani also returned to his texts on Instagram. “Sorry to all the people who feel offended. Giving an interview immediately after the match produces a lot of emotions and resulted in an unfortunate statement on my part. Of course I hope that Vitesse can start the competition next season.”

Eel soap

The relegation of FC Volendam certainly no longer came as a bolt from the blue. An expelled board, resigned trainers, financial problems and a crackling arbitration case: a true eel soap opera took place behind the scenes at FC Volendam this season. In the meantime, the players had the task of trying to stay in the Premier League, surrounded by chaos. On Sunday afternoon in their own Kras Stadium, the team finally bowed its head. After the defeat against Ajax, the gap with number 16 Excelsior was unbridgeable.

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Volendam was promoted back to the Premier League in 2022, after the club had spent thirteen seasons in the Kitchen Champion Division. In the first season, Volendam finished fourteenth under the leadership of coach Wim Jonk, the best result since 1997.

Yet during that strong season there was already unrest in the boardrooms. The supervisory board and the board – with chairman Jan Smit – were said to be not on the same page about who should lead the first team. In the summer, Carel Eiting left for FC Twente – even after a major transfer soap opera. Other basic players Derry John Murkin (Schalke 04), Daryl van Mieghem (ADO Den Haag) and Henk Veerman (ADO Den Haag) left the club.

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The bomb exploded in December of the 2023/2024 season. Four members of the board, including Jan Smit, were dismissed by the supervisory board. Subsequently, technical manager Wim Jonk and trainer Matthias Kohler, among others, resigned. All this while the team has been under the relegation line since the fifth round. “You don’t want it to seep into the field, but then it is noisy,” Mirani explained. “No matter how you look at it, it is reflected on the field. That does not benefit the game.”

Regillio Simons and Michael Dingsdag were appointed as trainer and assistant coach in January to save the club from relegation. Calm seemed to return to FC Volendam, but the results were not good enough to stay in the Premier League.

On Sunday afternoon, after the defeat against Ajax, the players clapped for the fans, who continued to tirelessly support their team. They know that the strong Kitchen Champion Division awaits them and they have to wait at least a season until Ajax plays another competition match in the Kras Stadium.

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