Marc Overmars steps down as Royal Antwerp director amid health concerns

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/overmars-marc/dIQe2Cg8/"]Overmars[/a], 56, confirmed the news himself in a letter written to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/antwerp/rVpPxw8H/"]Royal Antwerp[/a] fans on the club's social media.[/p][p][b]"For weeks, I’d been busy making plans to give you a detailed update after the transfer window. After all, I haven’t been in much contact with you over the last few months. That’s why I’d marked the start of September firmly in my diary to have a proper chat with you about the future,"[/b] said Overmars, who called the last couple of seasons "not easy" and the recent takeover of the club "stress-inducing".[/p][p][b]"Unfortunately, this is not the message I wanted to share with you. All the fatigue that has built up over the years, combined with the constant stress, unfortunately came to a head last weekend... I’m completely out of energy today: if I don’t listen to my body now, my doctors say there’s a very high risk of a bad outcome.[/b][/p][p][b]"So I have to make a drastic decision and put my professional activities on hold completely for the foreseeable future."[/b][/p][embed guid="4d54b38c-898b-4128-b165-1b302f31d87e" url="https://x.com/official_rafc/status/2097595887732064282?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Overmars joined Royal Antwerp in February 2022 after leaving [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ajax/8UOvIwnb/"]Ajax[/a] following a scandal involving a series of internal complaints about the executive's indecent behaviour. According to the victims, who were all female Ajax employees, Overmars sent them unwanted and unprompted explicit and nude pictures. One victim provided 300 pages of evidence.[/p][p]Following an investigation, Overmars was [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/marc-overmars-banned-from-world-football-over-inappropriate-behaviour/pQljHhNa/"]banned for one year from all Dutch footballing activities and later from world football[/a].[/p][p]The former [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] forward suffered a heart attack in November 2022 and stated afterwards that his heart has died off by 45 per cent. Overmars resumed his duties as technical director in January 2023, four months before Royal Antwerp won their first Belgian Pro League title in 65 years.[/p][p]Overmars will say a final goodbye to the Royal Antwerp fans prior to Sunday's match against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, he said.[/p][p][b]"After that, it’s definitely time for a proper rest. You’ll certainly see me at the Bosuil again in the future. And having a steak at Pont-Neuf. A stew at Den Artist. Riding my scooter down Kloosterstraat. I love RAFC. I love the city of cookies. I love you all!"[/b], Overmars concluded.[/p]