Marc Overmars has been suspended from football activities in the Netherlands for one year after sending inappropriate messages to female colleagues.
Overmars, who had been director of football at Ajax, departed the Dutch club in February last year over a “series of inappropriate messages sent to several female colleagues”.
The 50-year-old, who played for Ajax, Arsenal, Barcelona and the Netherlands during his playing career, apologised and said at the time that he was “ashamed” of his “unacceptable” behaviour.
Ajax had said the messages took place “over an extended period of time”.
The Instituut Sportrechtspraak (ISR) — the Dutch disciplinary committee for sports federations — confirmed to The Athletic it had ruled that Overmars be banned from holding any position within a Dutch Football Association-affiliated organisation for a mandated period of two years, one of which is suspended.
Overmars was later appointed sporting director of Antwerp in March 2022. The Athletic has contacted the Belgian club for comment.
At present, the ban does not affect his job in Belgium but the ISR said that the suspension could be submitted to world football governing body FIFA for review.
The Athletic has approached FIFA for comment.
In his playing career, Overmars enjoyed a three-season stint with Arsenal from 1997 to 2000, securing both the Premier League and FA Cup in 1998, and later spent four years with Barcelona.
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