Thaindian News

Amsterdam, Dec 13 (IANS) A court in Haarlem temporarily suspended the appointment of Louis Van Gaal as CEO at Ajax Football Club, until the shareholders get a chance to vote on the position.

The shareholders of Ajax held a general meeting Monday after the court session, but did not have the opportunity to speak out, since this issue was not put on the agenda. Ajax stated it will first examine the verdict before giving a reaction here.

In November, four members of the supervisory board - Steven ten Have, Edgar Davids, Paul Romer and Marjan Olfers - appointed Van Gaal as the new general director starting July 1 next year. Danny Blind was appointed as interim technical director and Martin Sturkenboom as interim general director.

The decisions were taken without the consent of the fifth board member Johan Cruyff, club legend and long-time rival of Van Gaal.

Cruyff and ten youth coaches of Ajax took legal action against the appointments. According to Cruyff the appointments were not valid and contrary to the new technical policy of the club.

The judge ruled that the appointment of Van Gaal and Sturkenboom should be temporarily suspended, and Blind could hold his position.

“This is a victory for football,” Cruyff reacted. “Ideal for anyone who has something to do with football. They could not have lost more convincingly.”

“This was a very different field than where we used to play,” added the Dutch legend. “Fortunately we can now continue with what we started. The ex-players can continue to bring Ajax to where it belongs.”

The shareholders will probably dismiss the supervisory board, since the member’s council owns 73 percent of the shares. Earlier, the member’s council already showed their dissatisfaction with the supervisory board and asked them to quit.

During the shareholders meeting, supervisory board chairman Steven ten Have indicated he had no intention to quit. A next meeting will probably be scheduled in January.