Ajax has fired technical director Sven Mislintat. The Amsterdam club has that announced on Sunday evening. The dismissal of the 50-year-old German follows Ajax’s 0-3 defeat against Feyenoord earlier on Sunday. Interim director of Ajax Jan van Halst says that “various attempts to restore broader support have not led to the desired result.” According to him, this caused “unrest, also due to the disappointing performances”.
Mislintat, who started his work at Ajax last May, had been under heavy fire for some time. Last week it was announced that he may be guilty of a conflict of interest because he engaged a brokerage firm that has shares in his private company Matchmetrics for the transfer of Croatian Borna Sosa to Ajax. Ajax then opened an investigation into Mislintat’s working methods. To remain sheltered, Mislintat was not in the stands against Feyenoord.
Classic discontinued
There was also a lot of criticism about Mislintat’s purchasing policy. The German brought in twelve new, almost all unknown, players last summer. These players, who cost a total of more than a hundred million euros and almost all signed long-term contracts, have barely made a profit so far. It was significant that Ajax coach Maurice Steijn started most of the newcomers on the bench against Feyenoord.
During the Classic on Sunday, Ajax supporters used chants to express their dissatisfaction about the sporting and administrative crisis at their club. Shortly after the start of the second half, the match was permanently stopped due to fireworks being thrown onto the field during the match. Ajax is currently in fourteenth place in the Eredivisie.
Also read: If one match comes to symbolize the existential crisis in which Ajax finds itself, it is this Classic – report of a shocking afternoon in Amsterdam