Next season there will in principle be a new format for Belgian professional football, but that has been seriously challenged in recent months. A number of clubs did not accept a number of elements of the reform.
There was a lot of resistance, especially in the Challenger Pro League. Four U23 teams have been anchored there since this season. They can only be relegated if another promising team is promoted from the amateur series. If that doesn’t happen, a club that finishes above them will be relegated.
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BAS does not respond to the complaint
This arrangement attracted a lot of criticism. Three clubs in particular are resisting. Lokeren, Francs Borains and Seraing even initiated various proceedings. They went to both the Belgian Competition Authority and the Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The latter has now also made a decision in the file, you know The Last Hour. The three second-graders were put off, because their complaint was declared inadmissible and unfounded. The BAS therefore does not believe that it should intervene.
Waiting for BMA decision
This does not mean that the last word has been said, because the procedure before the BMA is still ongoing. They already indicated in an initial advice that there may be an ‘illegal disruption of competition’.
However, they have not yet imposed measures and a final ruling has not yet been made. That is not expected until the spring. So there will remain uncertainty about the competition reform for a few more months…
