The KNVB is not investigating how the amateur football players from Twedo became champions of the third division D on Sunday. SC Erica, the club that asked the football association about a possible investigation, is at peace with it.
Twedo, third in the ranking in 3D before last weekend, became champion by beating Gasselternijveen with no less than 10-0. The last goals of that game, which made Twedo champion, all fell in the last fifteen minutes.
SC Erica seemed to have the best credentials
Due to the draw of leader and intended champion Sweel against Sleen (1-1), both SC Erica and Twedo were able to come alongside in points. SC Erica won against FC Ter Apel’96 (0-2) and seemed to have the best papers, but due to Twedo’s late monster score, the team from Veenoord-Nieuw Amsterdam took off with the championship trophy.
The 10-0 quickly resulted in many frowned eyebrows. SC Erica asked the KNVB whether an investigation into the realization of that victory over Gasselternijveen could be done. But the union won’t do that. ,,We hope that every team fulfills its sporting duty”, says a spokesman. ,,To prevent situations like this, the last two rounds are played simultaneously. But apparently we can’t prevent these kinds of situations with that either.”
Balloons play into the hands of Twedo
Jannes de Lange, trainer of Twedo, agrees that his team did have some advantage because the match against Gasselternijveen had started too late. ,,There was a balloon activity with the youth that ran a little longer”, says the champion coach. ,,That was not planned, but in the end it turned out to be beneficial for us. We were a bit more lucky in that regard: the game started a little later and because work is being done on the fields, we, players and staff, first had to walk a long way. As a result, both the first and second half started a bit later.”
Partly because of this, Twedo, which reached the quarterfinals in the cup tournament, was therefore aware of the results in both Sleen and Ter Apel, where SC Erica won 2-0. ,,We knew then”, says De Lange, ,,that there might be a championship after all. Yes, you still want to score a few goals. But we really kicked them all in ourselves, Gasselternijveen didn’t do that.”
No investigation based on rumours
Rumors that there was more to the matter, of course, quickly spread, says Jan Jeuring, chairman of SC Erica. ,,We heard everything; of ‘who would be involved or who’. But yes, what good is it? Everyone yells something. Partly for this reason, we also asked the KNVB if they could take a look at it. But the union quickly said: we can’t do that based on rumours. And we have no hard evidence that, for example, players would have been bribed. Well, then it will stop. We don’t want to falsely accuse anyone. So we congratulate Twedo with the title and for us it has to happen in the playoffs.”