AMSTERDAM :One of the Netherlands' oldest clubs, Vitesse Arnhem, lost a final bid to save their professional licence on Friday and were effectively kicked out of the league, sparking fan protests.

The Central Netherlands Court rejected the club’s appeal to overturn a decision by the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) to revoke their professional licence.

Dutch media showed images of scuffles in Arnhem city centre as supporters gathered. One journalist was slapped, the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper reported, as anger was directed against media.

The court upheld the KNVB decision after the football association said the club had circumvented and undermined the licensing system for years and had spurned repeated opportunities to regularise their affairs, including debt reported to be around 14

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