Vitesse relegated following mammoth points deduction amid links to Roman Abramovich and Chelsea

Vitesse Arnhem were relegated from the Eredivisie after the Dutch Football Association stripped them of 18 points.

The KNVB, Dutch football’s governing body, has revealed it has imposed a record points deduction on Vitesse after it failed to meet the requirements of its licensing regulations.

The points deduction saw the Dutch club drop to -1, officially sealing their relegation from the Eredivisie, the first time they have lost a division in 35 years.

Relegation already seemed almost certain, with the club bottom of the league with four games remaining amid a financial crisis.

Chelsea and Vitesse enjoyed a close working relationship during Abramovich’s tenure at Stamford Bridge.

Very often, Blues players were loaned to the Dutch team to help them develop or showcase them.

One such affair occurred when academy graduate Mason Mount was looking to break into the first team, joining Vitesse on loan during the 2017/18 season.

It proved to be the creation of Mount, who enjoyed a fine campaign in which he scored 14 times in 39 appearances, winning the club’s Player of the Year award and featuring in the team. Eredivisie year.

The England international then impressed at Derby County the following year under Chelsea legend Frank Lampard before the two reunited at Stamford Bridge ahead of the 2019/20 season.

But the club that helped him become the player he is today has fallen into a state of crisis as the KNVB insisted the massive sanction was due to the “exceptional severity and scale » violations of the Dutch football licensing system.

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It was further noted that Vitesse had provided “incorrect information” and withheld information while the licensing committee concluded there were “indications” that Abramovich had controlled or still controlled Vitesse.

Vitesse may appeal the decision, but revealed it was not going to do so and would instead focus on maintaining its football license.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government, had his assets frozen and was forced to sell Chelsea.

The Blues are also under investigation by the Premier League over events during Abramovich’s reign at the club.

In January, Premier League CEO Richard Masters said: “Regarding Chelsea, as you know, Chelsea’s new owners have communicated information to UEFA, the FA and the Premier League about the ‘previous owner and we are still investigating this.

“We will not announce the results until we have completed the investigations.”