Employment lawyer Mirjam Decoz and public administration expert Alie Kuiper speak for about twenty minutes in the clubhouse at the De Toekomst sports complex. It is Wednesday evening, December 7, the general meeting of the AFC Ajax association, with 73 percent major shareholder of the listed professional club Ajax. The subject is a safer working and sports environment, something that is very much alive among members and employees since the departure of director of football affairs Marc Overmars due to transgressive behaviour.
De Toekomst is not only home to Ajax 1 and the youth academy, but also to AFC Ajax, an association with 900 members. The consequences of the Overmars case also affect the members – team leaders, youth trainers, parents, youth scouts. There are many members who work or played at Ajax.
Decoz and Kuiper have been invited to speak about the committee that, under their leadership, must advise the Supervisory Board on the internal culture change. This committee – which was installed on September 9 for a period of three years, seven months after Overmars’ departure – is a recommendation from an investigation by Bezemer & Schubad in May into the undesirable behavior within the club.
Ten Ajax people are on the committee, plus the external specialists Decoz and Kuiper. All together they form the best possible reflection of the club. One works at De Toekomst, the other at the Johan Cruijff Arena. There are also a physiotherapist, a trainer, a member of the works council and a member of the association board.
The committee members regularly text, call and zoom with each other and meet at set times. Working groups are also formed to investigate specific issues – not necessarily problems – within the club.
In their advice, Decoz and Kuiper explain to the 150 invitees, not only transgressive behavior is discussed, but also the position of women at Ajax and the way in which players and trainers at the professional club and youth academy address and interact with each other.
“Prevention is very important,” says committee chairman Decoz to the audience – Ajax’s management is also present. “Ways of reporting should be as clear and accessible as possible.”
Research among staff
The committee’s advice must be completed by June 2023 – a “broad culture survey” among all employees is part of this. The supervisory board will decide on this advice, after which the management board must draw up a ‘plan of action’. And take care of the implementation, possibly with the help of an external agency. The committee will soon have to ‘monitor’ the implementation.
Managers at Ajax are already receiving training on manners and work culture, Decoz tells the audience.
Jack Spijkerman, a volunteer at the club and a member for almost a quarter of a century, hears the story of Decoz and Kuiper with amazement. Why take so long to draw up protocols that every self-respecting company should have?
He grabs the microphone and asks why the victims of transgressive behavior at Ajax are not being helped. He says he knows an employee who has had to deal with it – albeit not through Overmars – and who pays for the therapy she receives as a result.
There were many questions and comments from the audience that evening. How exactly does this research work? Isn’t that broad scope a bit exaggerated? How do other companies do that? Older members in particular are concerned that the youth academy will become too soft if clear language is banned. But there is also a childminder of a football player who “absolutely” does not like the current dressing room language.
Some attendees find the story of Decoz and Kuiper important, others wonder when it can be about football again – a dichotomy that has been seen more often since Overmars’ departure, both inside and outside the club.
is illustrative an interview of The parole in which departing Ajax coach Erik ten Hag says: “If Johan Derksen can return to TV, Overmars can return to Ajax.” He considers it “not excluded” that he will work again at Ajax with Overmars, now sporting director at Royal Antwerp FC. On Friday, the club announced that Overmars had been admitted to hospital with a “slight stroke”.
Little information
Several women within Ajax have been confronted with inappropriate behaviour, according to an investigation by bureau Bezemer & Schubad in May following the Overmars case. This varied from bad jokes and derogatory or hurtful remarks, to an unwanted arm around the shoulder and other intrusive behavior, wrote the club. The report was not made public or shared with all staff. Before the Overmars case, there were still ‘two cases’ involving transgressive behaviour. Measures have been taken against those involved, the club stated.
In May it also became clear that the disciplinary investigation at the Institute for Sports Justice (ISR) into Overmars would not get off the ground. Women do not report, Overmars does not want to talk and Ajax only provides minor information, writes the NOS. When asked, a spokesperson for Ajax says that the research of Bezemer & Schubad has not been shared, partly because of “the privacy of those involved”. “The ISR has asked Ajax to provide insight into the report. This has been provided, whereby the anonymity of those involved is guaranteed and privacy is protected and respected.”
According to an insider, “more serious facts” have been reported to the ISR than previously in the press release of Ajax after the departure of Overmars. Sending ‘cross-border messages to several female colleagues’ was given as the main reason for leaving.
A problem may be that women only dare to express themselves anonymously. Overmars must be able to defend itself against the reports and that cannot be mentioned as man and horse. The ISR was able to counter this NRC not go into it.
Partly due to the work of the committee led by Kuiper and Decoz, Ajax is gradually paying more attention to the women who fell victim to transgressive behaviour. Staff members are aware of the problem, feel more free to talk about it among themselves and wonder whether they behave well in the workplace.
More understanding
Outwardly, there is also more understanding for the duped women, who have not always felt supported by the management. At the shareholders’ meeting in November, chairman of the supervisory board Leen Meijaard emphatically thanks the women who reported internally to Ajax. “They had to cross a mountain.”
The fact that undesirable behavior is now easier to discuss is seen as a good development within the club. It is a misconception, say several people involved, that a disproportionate amount of time is spent on tackling this behaviour. Even if the committee has completed its task, a healthy sports and working climate will remain a point of attention at Ajax. “Culture change takes time and that process never stops,” said a spokesman.
Alie Kuiper and Mirjam Decoz ‘given their role’ did not respond to requests for cooperation in this article. Ajax did not respond to an interview request for general director Edwin van der Sar and chairman of the supervisory board Meijaard, according to a spokesperson because they first want to inform the staff about the process.