Once a dignified club, the European team has MINUS 15 points and is in danger of being relegated to the third league

The licensing committee of the Dutch football association KNVB has punished the Vitesse team with a deduction of 21 points. The Arnhem football club was given this sanction because they broke licensing rules on four occasions in recent months, the association said on Thursday.

The team's points tally now stands at -15 in total, and is in danger of relegating to the third league. Vitesse had already been handed a six-point relegation this season and are now firmly rooted in the bottom of the Dutch second division, the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, the sponsored name of the Eerste Divisie.

They were relegated to that division last season from the Eredivisie, the country's top league.

The KNVB claims that Vitesse has submitted incomplete and delayed financial reports over a longer period. This is about the 2022-2023 season's annual accounts, the forecast, half-yearly figures, the previous season's 2023-2024 annual accounts and the current season's forecast.

The team is still owned by Russian oligarch Valery Oyf and was once called "Chelsea B" due to the close links it had with the London club when it was owned by Roman Abramovich. Several high-profile Chelsea players, including Nemanja Matic and Mason Mount, spent loan spells in Arnhem.