Anderlecht Fined for Making Kompany Coach Without Required License

Anderlecht appointed Kompany as a player-coach but evidently thought it was above reproach after trying to work around the fine print.

Anderlecht has been fined by the Belgian FA for naming former Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany as head coach without the 33-year-old having the required qualifications.

The side from Brussels finished sixth last season in the Belgian First Division and has won just one league title in the last five years. It appointed Kompany as a player-coach in May in a move to try and revitalize the club and guide it to success again.

However, Kompany has struggled so far in charge, with two victories in the opening 10 league games leaving the club 13th in the table on nine points, 14 points behind first-place Club Brugge.

Adding to this woe, Anderlecht has now been fined €5,000 (£4,315) by the Belgian FA, which requires all head coaches of top-flight cubs to hold a UEFA Pro License, something that the former Belgium international does not possess.

The club was seemingly aware of this requirement as it had stated that Simon Davies - the former Manchester City academy chief who joined Kompany in Brussels in May - was in fact the head coach. This claim has been rejected by the Belgian FA, though, as it has used Anderlecht’s own media statements and video clips against them in disproving this theory.

On the matter, the association's licensing committee said, as quoted by Sky Sports: “The club violated the regulations for a long time and despite that it being against the rules did not hesitate to publicly unveil a coach without a diploma.”

Anderlecht has since named Frank Vercauteren, who does indeed have the necessary qualifications, as head coach, with Kompany continuing only in a playing capacity and the club stating that Vercauteren has replaced Davies, who will remain at the club as an assistant coach.

It is still unclear though who actually remains in charge, with many suspecting that while Kompany may no longer be officially in charge on matchdays due to his lack of required qualifications, he is seen as the head coach by the players and leads the club on a day to day basis at training.

Meanwhile, Anderlecht returns to action following the international break against Sint-Truiden on Sunday aiming to climb the table.