The Belgian side Royal Antwerp FC have appointed the former Ajax director Marc Overmars as their new technical director – little over a month after he left his job in the Netherlands over inappropriate behaviour towards female colleagues. Overmars, 48, stepped down from his job at Ajax, after sending inappropriate messages and photographs to several women who worked there – behaviour he admitted was “unacceptable”. At his presentation in Antwerp, Overmars said matters at Ajax had been appropriately dealt with and had not impacted his talks with his new employer. “What has happened at Ajax won’t happen again”, he said. “I am glad to be here. It is a new chapter for me. A beautiful challenge at a club where I see potential to grow.” Sven Jaecques, Antwerp’s general manager, said he had not specifically talked to female workers at his club about the decision to employ Overmars. “It is important to give people new opportunities and to turn the page,” he said. Overmars played for Ajax from 1992 to 1997 and became technical director in 2012. Prior to his shock departure, he had been reappointed for a new term until mid-2026. Broadly speaking, Overmars was seen as the architect of Ajax’s string of recent successes, raising salaries at the club significantly and bringing in Premier League players such as Daley Blind, Dusan Tadic and Sébastien Haller.