Earlier than Bundesliga & Co.
Imagine that your own football association doesn’t know the date of the deadline day – you don’t have to imagine that in the Netherlands. “Voetbal International‘ has seen on Transfermarkt’s transfer window overview that Deadline Day in the Eredivisie will take place on August 31st, instead of September 1st like in the Bundesliga, Premier League, Serie A or LaLiga this summer.
PSV boss Brands: “Hope this can be fixed as soon as possible”
The magazine wanted to be on the safe side, asked the Dutch association KNVB and thus provided a topic for discussion. Nothing came from the association. There was a reaction to the second e-mail: the association had inquired with the approval authority, but received no definitive answer.
Then “VI” contacted clubs and there is much to suggest that the KNVB was not up to par when it came to deadline days. “I hope this can be fixed as soon as possible,” said Marcel Brands, managing director of PSV Eindhoven. Other sports directors confirmed that they were unaware that the transfer window in other leagues was open one day longer – the association had received information that the deadline day was August 31st.
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FIFA announced in April that the transfer window in some top leagues will not close until September 1 this time, without giving reasons for this decision. A problem for the competitions, which have their transfer deadline on August 31, is the fact that the clubs could no longer react to a departure on September 1st. For example, if a wealthy club from England activates the release clause of a top performer from an Eredivisie club on September 1st, they could only bring in a replacement on January 1st.
Update 15.08., 5.50 p.m.: On Monday, FIFA rejected a request from the KNVB to postpone the Deadline Day in the Netherlands to September 1 at short notice. This was confirmed by the association of the newspaper “De Telegraaf“. The transfer time cannot be adjusted as long as the transfer window is open, it said.
KNVB: “We are amazed at this deviation in the deadlines”
Brands continued: “It was annoying that countries like Turkey and Russia were open longer than the Netherlands, but you don’t want that to be the case in the top leagues as well. However, I find it strange that they are open a day longer. August 31st was always the starting point. I definitely hope that the KNVB can fix it.”
According to “VI”, the association is said to have told the clubs that the chances of an extension until September 1 are bad. The KNVB said on Friday: “It is true that we recently found out that there is a difference in the closing date of the transfer window. We keep August 31 and some other associations close a day later, on the night of September 1-2. We are amazed at this discrepancy in deadlines. It is also true that we are still in talks with FIFA to see if we can extend our closing date. With the transfer window already underway, we expect this to be difficult to achieve in the short term.”
What at first glance seems more curious than problematic could have less funny consequences for some clubs if players actually have to be handed over on September 1st – either by clause or because the offer is simply too good financially. A timely look at our transfer window overview or the FIFA message in April could have prevented this situation.
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