The Prime Minister
announced that there will be no sports competitions until that date due to the coronavirus. The Dutch Football Federation said that, although it will consult with UEFA, it has no intention of ending the
2019-20 seasons.
There will be no Eredivisie
or any other sports competition in the Netherlands until September 1st.
Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced it on Tuesday. The Netherlands Football Federation (KNVB)
issued a statement a few hours later saying that it does not "intend to
continue playing the 2019-20 seasons, although any decision will be after
consultation with UEFA."
The Dutch Government
extended the ban on events that require special permits from June 1 to
September 1, including football matches, on Tuesday, which halts the Dutch
federation's plan to resume the Eredivisie
in June.
"It is a bitter decision, but we cannot avoid it," Prime
Minister Mark Rutte said at a press
conference in which the new measures taken by the Dutch Executive to fight
against COVID-19 were revealed.
Football matches without an audience would also
initially come under the category of special events, as they would need a
police presence to avoid crowds outside stadiums.
The Executive's announcement collides head-on with the
schedule of the Royal Dutch Football
Federation, which had recommended the clubs return with individual training
on May 15, in small groups a week later and the entire squad starting on May
29. According to that plan, now paralyzed, the Eredivisie matches would have
been played between June 19 and July 31.
The Dutch clubs were divided, as some like Ajax, AZ Alkmaar or PSV Eindhoven had asked
for the definitive cancellation of the competition, while others with financial
difficulties preferred to return.