Minutes before midnight, cheering broke out at Vitesse as businessman Guus Franke reached an agreement with the American investor Coley Parry about taking over the Arnhem football club. The acquisition saves Vitesse from bankruptcy and gives the football club hope for winning its appeal against the KNVB’s decision to , NOS . Franke announced the deal in a press release and Vitesse confirmed the content to the broadcaster.
The agreement was necessary to offer the KNVB a comprehensive policy plan. The deadline for this was 11:59 p.m.
on Monday. Vitesse said that it submitted the required documents to the Dutch football association on time. The KNVB stipulated that Vitesse had to cut ties with Parry and his Common Group for Franke to take over the club.
This required Franke to reach a deal with Parry to buy off over 14 million euros in debt. Earlier in the evening, the involved parties reported that , but a solution unexpectedly emerged. “I was disappointed to the core that, despite the efforts of so many people, whe had not been able to achieve this, Franke said.
“But it kept nagging at me, and despite everything, the fans remained as combative as ever. Then I decided to pick up the phone one more time, shoot one more time for the goal in the last second of injury time, and then we worked it out.” Hundreds of fans had gathered at the Vitesse training complex in Papendal to find out their club's future.
Cheers erupted at the unexpected reprieve. ⚠️Update: "Definitief.
