Davids accuses Dutch FA over Cruyff race row

Sport
Edgar Davids says a racism row between him and fellow Ajax and Netherlands legend Johan Cruyff was “swept under the carpet” by the country’s football authorities.

Edgar Davids says a racism row between him and fellow Ajax and Netherlands legend Johan Cruyff was “swept under the carpet” by the country’s football authorities.

 

Report by BBC Sport

Last November it was alleged that Cruyff told Davids he was only on the Ajax board because he was black.

Cruyff denied being racist and claimed his comments were misrepresented.

“The issue isn’t resolved,” Davids said. “I still feel bad because in Holland they pretend nothing happened.”

In a statement, the Dutch Football Association said: “The alleged statements were made during an internal meeting and never publicly pronounced or confirmed by the football club.”

The pair were reported to have fallen out when Davids and other Ajax board members appointed former coach Louis van Gaal  as the club’s new general director, reportedly without Cruyff’s knowledge.

When the row was made public, Cruyff, a three-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, wrote: “Ajax is a multi-cultural club and we have found that many talented immigrant players quit when they reach puberty.

“So we wanted to tackle this problem with someone from the same background, who had come through it. And that was Edgar Davids. “During one of our fights I pointed that out to him. But it had nothing to do with his skin colour.”

But Davids, who started his career at Ajax and is currently head coach at League Two side Barnet, said he would like an apology, despite stating at the time that he did not think Cruyff was a racist.

“They tried to sweep it under the carpet, because it’s a certain figure in football and that’s the wrong message to send to people,” said Davids, who won 74 international caps.

“He admitted it — there has to be consequences and there weren’t. He didn’t apologise and that’s what I’m still not satisfied about. “Just be a man and apologise, because you made the remark and it’s unacceptable.”

The Dutch FA said there were regulatory powers to deal with remarks made in public, but that otherwise “a person that is racially abused is allowed to file a complaint against another person/an organisation in football at the Royal Netherlands Football Association”.

Its statement continued: “Once filed, the prosecutor will look into this specific case to see whether or not further investigation is needed.”

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