{"id":5334,"date":"2026-05-01T09:23:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T09:23:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=5334"},"modified":"2026-05-01T09:23:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T09:23:06","slug":"top-european-league-could-replay-matches-due-to-bizarre-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=5334","title":{"rendered":"Top European league could replay matches due to bizarre crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div><!--$--><\/p>\n<p><h2>This is ridiculous&#8230;<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose drop-cap \">\n<p>Football in the Netherlands lately has been at the centre of a crisis, as it has involved clubs scrambling for legal advice and information, while the Dutch football association (the KNVB) is seeking urgent clarification on the eligibility of several players.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>A crisis has been caused as a result of a confusion about dual nationality, which is unlike anything seen before in the Netherlands, ESPN reports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>In the crisis which is known as Passportgate, about 25 players in the Dutch league have been implicated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$?--><template id=\"B:0\"\/><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>One of these players is Tjaronn Chery, who revealed to ESPN Netherlands in detail how the events have unfolded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>The NEC Nijmegen attacking midfielder, 37, following his return from international duty with Suriname in late March, as his country fell short of qualifying for this year\u2019s World Cup, said that he wasn\u2019t allowed at the club so he had to stay home for a period.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>\u201cI had to stay home for five days because I wasn&#8217;t allowed at the club. I guess my family got to see dad for a change. But the kids and wife were asking me, \u2018What&#8217;s going on?\u2019\u201d, the player revealed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$?--><template id=\"B:1\"\/><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>This week, a Utrecht court judgment in the case between the KNVB and NAC Breda, the club that started it all, could mean that there is a prospect of a scheduling nightmare.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$?--><template id=\"B:2\"\/><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Should the judge rule in the favour of NAC Breda, there is the possibility of at least 133 matches having to be replayed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>In mid-March, in a popular podcast, the hosts picked through the heavy defeat of NAC Breda, a day after they lost 6-0 to Go Ahead Eagles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>One of the pundits on \u201cDe Herde Helft\u201d (\u201cThe Third Half\u201d) podcast, Rogier Jacobs, following analysis of NAC Breda\u2019s weak defence, casually said: \u201cWell, NAC Breda can still win this match.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>As per Jacobs, Go Ahead Eagles possibly fielded an ineligible player, Dean James, after the left back accepted Indonesia&#8217;s offer of international football in March 2025.<\/p>\n<p>James, 26, was born in the Netherlands but he represents the Indonesia national team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$?--><template id=\"B:3\"\/><!--\/$--><!--$?--><template id=\"B:4\"\/><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Jacobs said on the podcast: \u201cIf you&#8217;re a Dutch player with Indonesian roots, you can choose to play for Indonesia. You&#8217;ll get a passport there, but what a lot of players and clubs don&#8217;t know is in some cases, you&#8217;d therefore give up your Dutch nationality.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Speaking to ESPN, professor of sport and law, Marjan Olfers, said: \u201cIf a player renounces his Dutch citizenship, as it were, you enter a different jurisdiction. In fact, you are then a foreigner. And therefore, you must possess a permit to be able to perform your work here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Following the podcast, NAC Breda complained to the Dutch football association about the eligibility of James.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>The club\u2019s managing director Remco Oversier said on April 28 that he was alerted to James\u2019 case following the podcast episode.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Countries like Indonesia, Suriname and Cape Verde were former Dutch colonies or countries with sizable numbers of emigrants to the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$?--><template id=\"B:5\"\/><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Previously, they had looked to bolster their international sides with Netherlands-based players who could be eligible through their ancestry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>All of this, however, posed an issue, as Dutch law states that Dutch nationality is automatically lost upon voluntarily acquiring another nationality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>For example, applying for a new passport to play for Indonesia appears to fit that description, ESPN reports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>While there are some exceptions, when certain players from Indonesia, Suriname or Cape Verde accepted dual citizenship, they surrendered Dutch citizenship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>What is more, players in Dutch football must hit certain criteria to get a work permit. <\/p>\n<p>What this means is that in the Netherlands, the most common means for those over 21 years old is to be paid a wage of \u20ac608,000 or more a year, while it is around half that amount for those under 21.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$?--><template id=\"B:6\"\/><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>And that threshold immediately ruled out several players across the Dutch leagues, leaving a group without the right work permit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><\/div>\n<p>#Top #European #league #replay #matches #due #bizarre #crisis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is ridiculous&#8230; Football in the Netherlands lately has been at the centre of a crisis, as it has involved clubs scrambling for legal advice and information, while the Dutch football association (the KNVB) is seeking urgent clarification on the eligibility of several players. A crisis has been caused as a result of a confusion [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5335,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1690,1118,314,5492,279,785,2544,5493,1422,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-5334","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"tag-bizarre","9":"tag-crisis","10":"tag-due","11":"tag-eredivisie","12":"tag-european","13":"tag-league","14":"tag-matches","15":"tag-replay","16":"tag-sport","17":"tag-top"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}