The Case of AJAX and the Inappropriate Behaviour of a Director

Amsterdamsche Football Club AFC Ajax NV is one of the three leading football clubs in the Netherlands, traded on the Euronext Stock Exchange. In April 2021, it was placed 20th in Forbes’ list of the most valuable football clubs, with a valuation of approximately USD 413 million. Marc Overmars, a former winger for Ajax, Arsenal, and FC Barcelona, was the director of football affairs since 2012. In February 2022, Ajax sent out a press release that Overmars resigned with immediate effect due to ‘a series of inappropriate messages sent to several female colleagues over an extended period of time’. In this case, at least two moral dilemmas present themselves: first, the decision to reappoint Overmars at the EGM despite serious, but unconfirmed, signals of inappropriate behaviour and second, the debate over Overmars’ continued role as Ajax’s technical director.