Peter Bossaert summons the Royal Belgian Football Association

The Belgian Football Association announced the resignation of CEO Peter Bossaert on March 23. The native of Bruges was under fire after a wage adjustment in his contract, which allegedly did not follow the standard procedure. His contract was terminated with immediate effect.

Denies

Bossaert, however, denies that he made any mistakes. “The contract talks went completely according to the book”, Bossaert breaks the silence after two weeks.

“At the beginning of 2022, my contract was amended via an addendum, in consultation with the chairman and vice-chairman of the RBFA. This was done in the same way as in 2018, when my initial contract with the football association was signed.

“Conservation of remuneration, given inflation”

“The addendum does not provide for any increase in the contractually agreed remuneration at all,” it continues. “The addendum was intended to maintain the remuneration in view of inflation. With regard to the annual bonus, targets were provided in the addendum, which were missing in the initial contract.”

“The addendum, which was co-signed in February 2022 by the then chairman (Robert Huygens, ed.) and vice-chairman (Michael Verschueren, ed.) of the Board of Directors, more than a year later cannot possibly be regarded as a serious contractual shortcoming or serious error,” says Peter Marx, Bossaert’s lawyer.

“The current chairman of the RBFA (Paul Van den Bulck, editor’s note) has also been aware of the content of the original contract and the addendum since October 2022. At no time has the RBFA given notice of default or addressed my client about the addendum. On the contrary, between October 2022 and the date of his resignation, the Board of Directors of the RBFA positively evaluated Peter Bossaert’s work and the bonus was paid as usual, as in all previous years.”

Reputational damage

Peter Bossaert recognizes that every company is free to say goodbye to its CEO. “But it is unacceptable that the RBFA is throwing away my good name and reputation. It is painful to have to summon this organization, of which I am so proud.”

“The dismissal is wrongful and the personal damage I suffer as a result is incalculable. Because I value ethics, integrity, honesty and professionalism, this must be rectified as soon as possible.”

Last Monday, Manu Leroy was appointed as CEO ad interim at the RBFA.