Supreme Court advisor backs Vitesse in Dutch FA licence dispute

Arnhem football club Vitesse should keep its professional licence, the supreme court’s most senior legal advisor has said. The advice is the latest part of an ongoing battle between the club and the national football association KNVB over alleged financial violations.

The KNVB stripped Vitesse of its licence in July 2025, saying the club had spent years breaching financial rules by failing to be transparent about its finances and ownership structure. An appeal court in Arnhem reinstated Vitesse two months later, and the KNVB then took the case to the supreme court.

The advocate general’s opinion is not binding on the court but is often followed. Both sides have two weeks to respond before the supreme court issues its ruling.

Long-running dispute

The KNVB described the violations as “structural, serious and persistent” when it first revoked the club’s licence.

But when the appeal court reinstated the club shortly after, it said that the association had taken its decisions under “great time pressure and therefore not with the highest possible degree of care”. Vitesse returned to the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, the country’s second tier.

The KNVB announced in October that it would take the case to the Supreme Court “in the interests of professional football”, saying it wanted clarity on how far the courts can review decisions made by KNVB bodies.

Friday’s recommendation does not end the club’s uncertainty. A separate substantive case over the licence revocation is still before the courts, and the KNVB has yet to approve the takeover of the club by a local consortium known as De Sterkhouders.