A Dutch court on Monday dismissed a legal challenge by NAC Breda seeking to force a replay of their league match against Go Ahead Eagles, a ruling that averted a potential logistical crisis for the Eredivisie.
NAC were contesting a 6-0 defeat on March 15, arguing that Go Ahead Eagles defender Dean James should not have been allowed to play because the defender had lost his Dutch nationality after taking Indonesian citizenship in order to represent the Asian country in World Cup qualifiers, rendering him ineligible under Dutch football regulations.
The Utrecht court sided with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), which had declined to approve a replay. Although the KNVB acknowledged that James should technically have been ineligible because of the passport issue, it argued that neither the club nor the player had been aware at the time that his change of nationality would automatically carry legal consequences.
The verdict brings an end to a period of significant uncertainty for Dutch football. The KNVB had warned that a ruling in NAC's favour could have triggered a "snowball effect," potentially placing more than 130 matches under legal scrutiny.
For NAC, who were ordered by the judge to pay the KNVB's legal costs, the ruling is a significant blow to their survival hopes. They are second bottom of the Eredivisie, six points adrift of the safety zone with two matches remaining in the season.