A youth coach at Dutch club Vitesse has been prosecuted after sending sexual messages to a 16-year-old girl.
The 40-year-old coach from Waalwijk is also an ex-professional footballer.
According to Dutch outlet AD, he allegedly tried to induce an underage victim to perform sexual acts via chat conversations through his football school.
It is claimed that he also wanted to meet and have sex with the girl.
The man is reported to have played for various Brabant clubs and was an assistant coach at a Brabant club in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie until 2023.
Last year, he became a youth coach at Vitesse and opened his own football academy.
It is through that football school, which also has a location in Eindhoven, that he came into contact with the 16-year-old victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
The prosecutor claims the man allegedly tried to meet her after a training session in September to kiss her.
“Try the van tomorrow?”, he is said to have messaged.
When the girl declined the offer, he is reported to have sent further sexual messages and invited her to perform sexual acts with him.
💛🖤🤝🧡🖤 pic.twitter.com/fz8LgcJQsW
— Vitesse (@MijnVitesse) July 8, 2025
Vitesse Youth Coach Confesses To Approaching Underage Girl
The Public Prosecution Service found out about the man messaging the girl via third parties.
She is said not to have wanted to file a report for fear of jeopardising her football career.
But prosecution services opted to prosecute the man without filing a report.
The ex-pro footballer has since confessed to approaching the underage girl.
Both he and his lawyer were not present at a preliminary hearing for the trial on Tuesday.
The man will face trial on 2 October.
Vitesse Respond To Youth Coach News
Following the news of their youth coach being prosecuted, Vitesse have released a statement.
Club spokesman Bram Simons said: “We as a club have just been informed of this situation and want to deliberate internally before we respond.”
Vitesse, who finished 20th last season, play in the second tier of Dutch football.
They have been in that league since their relegation from the Eredivisie in 2024.
That came following an 18-point deduction for financial issues.
Vitesse News Follows 2017 Scandal
This isn’t the first time a youth coach from Vitesse has been accused of abusing players.
In 2017, former Vitesse youth player Renald Majoor revealed he was sexually assaulted by a coach at the club in 1996, when he was 12 years old.
The coach was later suspended, but the incident was allegedly kept under wraps by the club.
