Royal Antwerp sponsors axe deal with club over Marc Overmars statement fury

A sponsor for Belgian side Royal Antwerp have ended their deal with the club following Antwerp's decision to hire former Ajax director Marc Overmars.

Overmars stepped down from his role at Ajax six weeks ago after admitting 'unacceptable' behaviour after leaks within the club exposed messages to fellow employees from the Dutchman. Evidence showed Overmars had sent inappropriate messages, and even photographs, to multiple women who worked at Ajax.

But the 48-year-old was announced as the new director of Antwerp on Monday despite still being subject to an independent investigation in the Netherlands. And the Belgian club are set to lose one of their sponsorship deals as a result.

The Select Group are a personal management agency that sponsor Antwerp, and released a statement following their disappointment that Overmars had been appointed. Not only did they say that it went against their values, but they claimed they were not even consulted before a decision was made.

Their statement read: "As a permanent partner and sponsor of RAFC, we were neither consulted nor informed in advance. The decision to appoint Mr Overmars, who was recently accused of repeated transgressive behaviour and who is currently subject to an independent investigation in the Netherlands, is directly against the values and standards of Select Group."

Select Group did insist that in spite of their decision, everyone deserves a second chance upon a period of self-reflection. But due to the fact that this was not addressed upon his arrival, they have decided to end their sponsorship at the end of the season.

Their statement continued: "However, we sincerely believe that after a conscious period of self-reflection, every person deserves a second chance.