© BELGIUM
A day after the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, KV Mechelen also decided to appeal to the Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sport (BAS) against the decision of the Disciplinary Council for Professional Football (DRP) to have the stopped game between Charleroi and KV Mechelen replayed. The club will announce this on Thursday.
Vincent Van GenechtenBron: BELGIAN
A day after the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, KV Mechelen also decided to appeal to the Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sport (BAS) against the decision of the Disciplinary Council for Professional Football (DRP) to have the stopped game between Charleroi and KV Mechelen replayed. The club will announce this on Thursday.
The DRP decided last Friday that the halted competition match of November 12, 2022 between Charleroi and KV Mechelen must be played again in full. Referee Jan Boterberg then had to pause the game twice because supporters of the Karolos had thrown tennis balls and fireworks on the field. In a third incident, with ‘only’ one piece of fireworks, halfway through the second half and with a 1-0 score for Charleroi, the ref decided to stop the match definitively.
According to the Council, however, the race management had decided to stop the match too quickly against the procedure, which had given the supporters too much power. Charleroi must also play a home match without supporters and pay a fine of 10,000 euros. Charleroi and KV Mechelen also have to replay their duel behind closed doors. According to the DRP, to maintain the “serenity and calmness” of the match.
On Wednesday, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that it would challenge the DRP’s decision at the BAS. A day later, KV Mechelen takes the same step. “Last Friday, we were very surprised to learn of the decision of the disciplinary committee. This decision is worrying for the future of Belgian football and its fan experience. It feels unfair to our players, our supporters, our club, but above all to what it’s all about, football,” says Mechelen. “Incidents of violence and aggression such as that of November 12, 2022 in Charleroi must always be punished. That did not happen with the ruling of Friday 17 March.”
The club argues that the decision to replay behind closed doors raises many questions. “Isn’t this decision at odds with what the Pro League, RBFA and the Ministry of the Interior are asking for in their action plan against violence in our stadiums? Is the aggression sufficiently punished with this decision? Will a match be replayed behind closed doors for every refereeing error? Are the KVM supporters entitled to compensation after the stopped match? Why can’t they be at the game to be replayed?”
© BELGIUM
Mechelen says that he can “cite many more arguments why this decision does not feel fair”. At the same time, the club wants to draw attention to its own “great supporters”. “They make many trips throughout the season. Supporters pay a lot of money to be able to be there to support our club. Unfortunately, they did not get to see a football match in Charleroi. Those present can testify that the match became an afterthought. It was a ghost match where everyone mainly wondered when the match would be stopped”, it continues.
Malinwa concludes by emphasizing that the club “continues to make a positive contribution to Belgian football” and “continues to call for all forms of violence to be banned from our stadiums”.
“We are convinced that our supporters will prove this again during the final of the Croky Cup at Heysel (on April 30 against Antwerp, ed.). We are not only determined to go to that cup final. We are also determined to go to the BAS, a few hundred meters from the King Baudouin Stadium, even if this costs us extra money, time and energy. So we don’t do this out of self-interest, but to safeguard the beautiful game that we all like to see and experience. The club will not comment further on this matter,” the press release concludes.
