The dispute over the future direction of Amsterdam football club Ajax took a new twist on Monday night as the 24-strong members’ council said it no longer had confidence in the supervisory board and called on all five members to resign.

Monday night’s showdown follows a decision by four of the five board members earlier this month to appoint Louis van Gaal as general director of the club, without consulting fifth board member Johan Cruijff. Cruijff and Van Gaal do not get along.
Prior to the meeting, the council was thought to be split fairly evenly in its support between the two camps. In the end, members asked all five to quit. Cruijff had said earlier he could no longer work with the other four.
Sleep
It is not yet clear what this means for Van Gaal’s appointment and two other management board appointees. Steven ten Have, thought to have masterminded Van Gaal’s nomination, told reporters after the meeting he wanted to sleep on his decision.
Members’ council spokesman Keje Molenaar said Van Gaal’s position would become clearer in the next few days. Cruijff and 10 Ajax youth trainers have started legal action against the appointments because Cruijff was not involved.
Ajax, which is listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange, holds its AGM on December 12.
Cruijff, who played for Ajax for years, launched a high profile campaign to improve the club’s fortunes last year.