Ex-Rangers winger Pieter Huistra on why cancelling the Eredivisie won't cost Dutch football a euro

The KNVB stunned European football on Friday when they decided to scrap the 2019/20 campaign after prime minister Mark Rutte banned sporting events until September 1 due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Ajax, who led AZ Alkmaar on goal difference with nine games remaining, won’t be crowned champions and Champions League and Europa League places next term will be awarded on current standings.

There will be no promotion or relegation either and Cambuur and DE Graafschap, who were 11 and seven points clear of third placed Volendam respectively in the second tier Eerste Divisie, have been denied the chance to go up to the top flight.

Alkmaar and Utrecht, who were due to play Feyenoord in the final of the Dutch Cup before it too was abandoned, are furious at the shock move and have both threatened to take legal action against the governing body.

The prospect of declaring the Ladbrokes Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two null and void – as many in the Scottish game had demanded – because of the coronavirus pandemic was dismissed by the SPFL earlier this month.

It was argued that broadcasters, sponsors and supporters would all demand millions of pounds in compensation if the league went down that route – and Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell publicly warned “the consequences of that are so severe”.

However, Huistra, the former Ajax assistant manager, believes the KNVB have made the correct call in the circumstances and is hopeful that clubs in his homeland will now come together along with other major stakeholders and work as one for the good of the Dutch football.

“When the government announced there could be no organised games until September there wasn’t really any other decision they could make,” he said. “UEFA were very clear last week about national federations being able to end leagues if there was an official order prohibiting sporting events.

“The KNVB were in a very difficult position. This is a one-off situation and they couldn’t please everybody. They have decided there will be no champions, no promotion or relegation and the present standings will decide European placings. They have neutralised the league and scrapped the cup.

“There are still too many games to be played in the league. They still have to play nine matches. That is almost a third of the league. That is too much to say one club can be champions. Ajax and Alkmaar also have the same points. I think it is the right decision.”

Huistra, who has worked around the world as a technical and director as well as a manager and assistant since retiring from playing, is doubtful that cancelling the Eredivisie will lead to costly court battles and expensive pay outs because of the government ban on sporting events in the Netherlands.

“Who is to blame?” he said. “Who do you ask for compensation from? Why go to court to try and get money back? Everybody is losing out at the moment. I think everybody has to accept the situation.

“We are all in this together – the TV companies, the press, football players, sponsors, clubs and supporters. So why sue each other? We have to make sure we work together. Fans have to give up their season tickets, broadcasters have to accept they can’t show games, sponsors have to realise their logo won’t be on display.

“The TV companies need to understand at this moment they are important players and have to work with clubs and fans to save this industry. I hope they know the role they have. I think all parties have accept they have to give up a little bit, take some damage and go on. This is a completely unprecedented crisis.”

Huistra, who played for Eredivsie clubs Groningen, Veendam and Twente and has since coached at Ajax, Vitesse Arnhem, Groningen and De Graafschap, believes the Dutch clubs who are threatening to take the KNVB to court should soften their stance once the shock of the announcement has subsided.

“There are a lot of people shouting about the injustice of it all at the moment,” he said. “But hopefully in the next couple of weeks they can get over it, calm down and adopt a sensible attitude. They have to do that to make sure there is a continuation of every club and of football. It can’t be a case of every club for itself.

“They are part of a league, part of a professional set-up. The league have already asked the clubs who are competing in Europe next season to donate 25 per cent of their prize money to their rivals. That is the sort of approach that is needed at this time if Dutch football is to survive.

“You were always going to have winners and losers in this situation. It was a hard decision for the KNVB to make, but they made it. Good for them! Everybody now has to work together now to fix the problems and so clubs are ready to play against next season.”

The 53-year-old, an eight-times capped Netherlands midfielder who won five consecutive Scottish titles during his time at Ibrox in the 1990s, can appreciate why the Glasgow club’s supporters are keen for the Premiership to be either completed or cancelled. “I am a Rangers fan too and I want exactly the same thing,” he said. “Everybody has their own interest in these situations.”

However, he anticipates that it will be far easier for the SPFL to declare Celtic, who are 13 points clear of their city rivals with eight games remaining, Premiership champions than it was for the KNVB to hand Ajax the Eredivisie trophy. “The situation in Scotland is clear enough,” he said.

Huistra believes his old club should concentrate on building on the clear progress they have made under their manager Steven Gerrard when the football shutdown is lifted.

“Every year Rangers have improved a little bit,” he said. “They are closer to Celtic now than they have been in eight years. They should try to keep this momentum going. Within two or three years they will be past Celtic again.”