© mpics
The players of ASV Geel did not receive such pleasant news on Tuesday evening. To counter rising energy prices, the club decided that players and staff will have to hand in 25% of their wages from January.
“With this decision we are trying to avert the scenario of a few years ago,” explains Limburg chairman Benny Hoebregs.
The decision caused controversy within the club. “We knew that there would be a reaction to our decision. But overall, our players understand this decision. We had made up our budget for the season, with energy prices unknown. Those prices have now also gone up four or five times. So we had to intervene. Very honest? I think that soon every club will have to do this if they want to stay healthy.”
Son Jean-Michel and father Benny Hoebregs, player and chairman of ASV Geel. — © Raymond Lemmens
However, ASV Geel is doing well in terms of sport. The PhD student is in a good fourth place in 3rd division VV B. “Again: we don’t like doing this. But if we had let this situation drag on, we might have to recover 35% or 50% in a few months to stay financially sound. We wanted to avoid the scenario of several years ago at all costs. In any case, we remain healthy and ambitious and we want to continue the beautiful first half of the season”, concludes the Truiense chairman.
