November 17 – Former Dutch international Marc Overmars has been banned from football in his homeland for a year after admitting to sending inappropriate messages to female colleagues “over a period of time”.
The suspension – two years with one suspended – relates to Overmars’ time at Ajax where he quit as director of football in February 2022 admitting he was “ashamed” of his “unacceptable behaviour”.
The Dutch Sports Tribunal (ISR) ruled Overmars should be prohibited from “exercising any function” with an organisation affiliated with the Dutch FA
“When considering the appropriate punishment, the disciplinary committee took into account the fact that this affair has received a lot of publicity and that the accused has been damaged by it,” the ISR said in its ruling.
Nevertheless, it noted that the “inappropriate behaviour” had gone on for a long time and that there had been multiple instances. The ban does not affect his current role as sporting director at Belgian side Royal Antwerp
During a stellar career, Overmars played for Arsenal, Barcelona and Ajax before turning to football administration. He won the Champions League at Ajax before becoming a member of the Arsenal squad that won the League and FA Cup double in 1998.
Internationally, he represented the Netherlands at four major tournaments – the 1994 and 1998 World Cups and 2000 and 2004 European championships.
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