Lommel in liquidation

No pro-licence
Lommel, who have debts of around €2m, have been refused a pro-licence by the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA-KVBV) to play in the top two divisions next season and now risk sinking into the amateur leagues.

March deadline
The club need to find €400,000 by 31 March to pay a debt to the URBSFA-KVBV and ensure third-division status for next term, as KV Mechelen have done. Otherwise they could be playing in the lowest provincial league come the autumn.

Players under threat
More immediately, unless the liquidators - Herman Driessen and Xavier Gielen - find a solution fast, the 15 players who remain will be fired next week. Amid all of this, Lommel are trying to play football and complete their programme in the Eerste Klasse and the Belgian Cup, where they have reached the semi-finals.

No pay since December
Coach Jos Heyligen's players, despite receiving no money since December, have started paying money into a private insurance scheme to allow themselves to play, as the club can no longer afford to cover their insurance costs. Against this backdrop, it is no surprise they have trained little this week.

Match this weekend
Lommel will play R. Standard de Liège this weekend but how many more matches they manage remains to be seen. For each fixture they fail to fulfil, they will be handed a 5-0 forfeit - the first time this has happened in the Belgian top flight.