Several Eredivisie clubs are expected to keep international players on the sidelines after it emerged that they may have lost their automatic right to work in the Netherlands by opting to play for other countries.
The KNVB is investigating the employment status of dozens of Dutch players who have been capped for national teams such as Indonesia, Surinam and Cape Verde.
Dutch law requires people who voluntarily take another nationality to give up their citizenship in most circumstances.
If the players are no longer Dutch nationals they are no longer classed as EU workers have to obtain a work permit and earn a minimum salary of €600,000 a year.
Employment lawyers have warned that the development could have far-reaching implications for the game in the Netherlands, particularly smaller clubs who can only afford a modest wage bill.
Vaessen dropped
Emmen, who play in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, dropped Indonesian youth international Tim Geypens for their last two matches and have told the player he cannot train with his team-mates because it counts as work.
Groningen are expected to drop goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen, who played in Suriname’s World Cup play-off defeat to Bolivia last week, while Go Ahead Eagles will leave out striker Richonell Margaret, also a member of the Surinamese squad, and defender Dean James.
“It’s a complex situation,” Groningen director Frank van Mosselveld told RTV Noord’s podcast De Koffiecorner. “We are talking to lawyers and hope Vaessen can get a work permit as quickly as possible. If he doesn’t have one tomorrow, Etienne won’t be on the pitch.”
Other key players who could be affected include veteran striker and Suriname international Tjaronn Chery, who has spearheaded NEC’s challenge for a place in next season’s Champions League with six goals in 23 matches.
James’s case triggered the probe when NAC Breda queried his eligibility to play following the match between the two clubs two weeks ago, which Go Ahead won 6-0.
The 25-year-old was born in the Netherlands but has Indonesian heritage and took up an offer to play for the country last March, when former Netherlands striker Patrick Kluivert was head coach.
Go Ahead Eagles director Jan said he was looking to obtain “readmission” permits for James and Margaret, which would reinstate their right as former Dutch citizens to live and work in the Netherlands.
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