The Eredivisie title will be left vacant with promotion and relegation also axed

Both Ajax and AZ Alkmaar were level on points but neither will be champions

Cambuur will miss out on top tier football despite being 11 points clear at the top

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Holland's Eredivisie title will be left vacant after it was announced the season will be scrapped due to disruption caused by the coronavirus crisis.

Both Ajax and AZ Alkmaar were level on points at the top of the Eredivisie table, but neither will be crowned champions.

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Promotion and relegation have also been axed - with Cambuur, who were 11 points clear at the top of the second tier, now cruelly missing out on a return to the Eredivisie after three seasons away.

Holland's top-flight Eredivisie agreed to scrap the season and the title will now be left vacant

Ajax and AZ Alkmaar were level on points at the top of the table but neither will be champions

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Clubs were afforded a vote to decide the outcome of the campaign, with 16 choosing to enable promotion and relegation for the Eredivisie.

However, a further nine sides voted against their competitors being allowed to move into different leagues, with nine more abstaining from the vote entirely and believing that the Dutch FA should decide.

The KNVB then ultimately opted to ensure that clubs will remain in their current divisions for when football does resume in the country.

The current league table will also decide which clubs take part in European competitions next term.

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Clubs were given a vote to decide the outcome of the campaign during a video call on Friday

ADO Den Haag (pictured) and RKC Waalwijk subsequently avoided the drop to the second tier

Ajax, who top the standings on goal difference, will enter the last round of the Champions League qualifying stages, and AZ Alkmaar will go into the second qualification round.

Feyenoord will instead contest in the Europa League group stage.

PSV will progress into the third round of Europa League qualification, with Willem II entering the second qualifying round of the competition.

These permutations are subject to ratification from UEFA, however.

ADO Den Haag and RKC Waalwijk have subsequently avoided the drop after the drastic action taken by the Dutch federation.

Ex-West Brom boss Alan Pardew, now at ADO Den Haag, has been handed a relegation reprieve

Waalwijk welcomed the decision, with managing director Frank Van Mosselveld saying: 'The KNVB made the decision we hoped for this afternoon by not applying promotion and relegation to the 2019/2020 season.

'There is now clarity, so that we can work towards the new season. The KNVB had to make a difficult decision, because there is now a bigger game in the world.'

Former West Brom and Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew, now at the helm of ADO Den Haag, has been handed a relegation reprieve.

Pardew, 58, was appointed as their manager in January with Chris Powell as his assistant. Both joined on short-term contracts until the end of the season.

But the club were seven points adrift of safety when the league was halted due to the pandemic, with Pardew steering his charges to just one victory - his first game in charge. It remains to be seen whether Pardew will be handed another contract.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte (pictured) said organised events would remain banned until September 1

However, Cambuur boss Henk de Jong is unsurprisingly furious with his team now denied promotion.

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He described the decision as 'the greatest shame in the history of Dutch sport', and told Omrop Fryslan: 'Normally I have all respect for the people of the KNVB. But that has now dropped far below zero.'

The governing body had initially revealed that it would not explore the option of increasing the top division to 20 teams for next season.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has banned professional football until September in the face of the current health emergency.

The Eredivisie becomes the first major European league to be cancelled due to the pandemic, with questions certain to be raised over whether other competitions across the continent will follow suit.

UEFA indicated earlier this week that leagues in Europe could be cancelled 'in special cases'

UEFA indicated earlier this week that leagues could be cancelled 'in special cases', although the organisation still hopes for a restart to football in June.

All 55 European national FAs discussed the various ways to finish their respective seasons during a video conference call on Tuesday.

The Bundesliga and Serie A remain hopeful of restarting their action behind closed doors in May or June.

But Club Brugge were awarded the title in Belgium, with the Jupiler League called off for health reasons.

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The nation were the first to break ranks from the rest of Europe and declare an immediate end to the campaign with just one game of the regular season remaining.