March 23 – The Belgian FA (KBVB) have dismissed their CEO Peter Bossaert (pictured right) following a conflict over his bonus structure, which had been modified without the approval of the federation’s board.
On Wednesday, the KBVB held an extraordinary board meeting to address Bossaert’s bonus structure. Chairman Paul Van den Bulck was dismayed when he learnt that Bossaert’s new contract almost guaranteed him a bonus of €100,000 on top of a salary of €500,000.
In the new contract, the bonus was no longer subject to commercial benchmarks, but simply to convening the board of directors six times a year, delivering a report by a third party on good governance and generating a revenue of €15 million through UEFA income and sponsorships – all easy to achieve requirements.
The new contract was drawn up by the legal department and signed by vice-president Michael Verschueren and Robert Huygens. Bossaert had the opportunity to explain himself at the board meeting, but it didn’t save his job.
In a brief statement on Thursday, the KBVB said: “The Board of Directors of the RBFA has decided to terminate the contract of its CEO Peter Bossaert with immediate effect.”
“As of today, the Board of Directors will start working on the succession of its CEO and will meanwhile ensure that the day-to-day operation is ensured.”
“The RBFA refrains from further comment until further notice.”
The relationship between Van den Bulck and Bossaert had been strained for months. The first black FA boss of the Belgian FA wanted to be more than simply a non-executive president which irked Bossaert, who maintained that the daily management was part of the CEO’s remit.
Bossaert had also been responsible for handing Roberto Martinez the role of both national team manager and technical director, but he could reportedly not formulate a plan B after Belgium’s disastrous World Cup campaign and the Spaniard’s exit.
It was Bossaert who brought Van den Bulck to the FA.
On Friday, Belgium, with new coach Domenico Tedesco and captain Kevin De Bruyne, start a new cycle by playing away to Sweden in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
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