Marc Overmars, the former director of football at Ajax, was forced to resign from his position at Royal Antwerp, a Belgian team, following a year-long suspension from all sports.
Marc Overmars was given a two-year suspension at the conclusion of the previous year by the Dutch sports disciplinary authority ISR for breaking the organization’s sexual harassment policies. Overmars is in his fifties.
Since the ISR only had jurisdiction over the Netherlands, the embargo did not directly affect Overmars. However, an immediate global suspension was implemented following notification from FIFA, the international regulatory body, to the football association KNVB.
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An email to the NRC newspaper, which published the story of Overmars’s accusations two years ago, confirmed the suspension.
Marc Overmars can return to work after a year as long as he doesn’t break the rules again, because half of the punishment is temporary.
Six weeks after leaving Ajax in the midst of a scandal for making inappropriate contacts with female coworkers—including unsolicited intimate images of himself—Overmars signed up with Antwerp in March 2022.
He won’t be able to oversee Antwerp’s player purchases and sales for the remainder of the January transfer window, which is one of his busiest periods of the year in his current capacity.
Marjan Olfers, a sports law specialist at the VU in Amsterdam, tells NPO that Overmars can challenge the ban in accordance with Belgian labor legislation and appeal the ruling to FIFA.
“You don’t belong in the football family, according to FIFA. However, FIFA needs to follow Belgian labor laws. Therefore, it is subject to the conditions outlined in Overmars’s contract,” the speaker stated.
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