Ajax Amsterdam general manager, Edwin van der Sar has said the decision not to award the Dutch league champion to his club is understandable.
The season in the Netherlands was formally brought to a premature close last week due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ajax were top of the standings with nine matches left to play when the season was suspended last month.”
But the former European champions will not be awarded the title, the Dutch football association (KNVB) decided after hopes for a resumption of the season ended earlier this week when the government extended a ban on public events until Sept. 1.
It is the first time since 1945 that there will be no Dutch champion.
“As players and coaches, you want to win the title on the field,” said Van der Sar, the former Dutch national team and Manchester United goalkeeper.
“We have been top of the table throughout the season, so it is a pity we haven’t been able to become champion but given the situation we are in, it is understandable.
“There are a lot more important matters than football right now,” he told the club’s television channel.
However, Ajax will compete in the Champions League next season, taking up one of the two places for the Dutch in the competition. While AZ Alkmaar, who had caught up to Ajax in the weeks before the suspension of the league and were only behind them on goal difference, will start the competition in the preliminary rounds.
