AZ Alkmaar urge UEFA to overturn Ajax's automatic Champions League place ruling

Eredivisie declared null and void last month but Ajax still awarded lucrative automatic Champions League spot

AZ Alkmaar have written to UEFA urging them to overturn the Dutch football association's (KNVB) decision to award Ajax the country's automatic berth into next season's Champions League group phase.

With the Dutch government banning all sporting events until September 1 at the earliest due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Eredivisie was declared null and void last month.

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Not only did it mean no promotion or relegation but the decision denied Ajax the title, who were leading AZ on goal difference with nine games still to play when the campaign was initially suspended in March.

However, the KNVB awarded Ajax the automatic Champions League spot normally reserved for the Dutch champions, while AZ would have to try and qualify for a lucrative place through the preliminary knockout rounds.

AZ believe they should have been made the top placed team as they had beaten Ajax both home and away in the league this season and believe goal difference is no objective differentiator.

But a KNVB spokesman said the governing body do not plan to change its decision, adding: "We decided the places in European club competition next season on the basis of three criteria: transparency, objectivity and sportsmanship. We are keeping the rankings and Ajax is number one."