2019 Belgian Cup Final

In the weeks prior the match, the 2017–18 Belgian football fraud investigation had come into full focus as KV Mechelen was being accused of match fixing, causing the Royal Belgian Football Association to penalise the team by not allowing them to promote (despite becoming champions in the 2018–19 Belgian First Division B just a few weeks earlier), prohibiting them to play European football for the coming season and deducting 12 points from the start of the 2019–20 season.[1]

As the winner of the 2019 Belgian Cup Final qualifies for the group stage of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, a win by KV Mechelen would also impact the European places distribution and cause a scheduling problem, as in this case the third-placed team in the Championship play-offs would enter at this stage instead with all other European places shifting down accordingly. As a result, the fifth- rather than fourth-placed team from the Championship play-offs will have to play the Europa League play-off final against the winner of the Europa League play-offs, a match which is scheduled for 26 May 2019. The final ruling on the fraud investigation however is only scheduled for 27 and 28 May 2019, which could overturn the decision to prohibit KV Mechelen from playing in Europe.

Besides the negative impact of the football froud investigation, both teams went into the final in bad spell. KV Mechelen had not played a competitive match for over six weeks as their season had already ended mid-March when winning the promotion play-offs against Beerschot Wilrijk. On top of that their central midfielder Onur Kaya was unavailable due to yellow card suspension. Gent on the other hand was still active in the Championship play-offs, but had only obtained one single point out of their last six matches at the time of the cup final. Gent players Roman Yaremchuk (suspension) and Giorgi Chakvetadze (injury) were unavailable for the match.

Despite a sunny afternoon and a packed stadium, both clubs looked uninspired in the early stages of the match, with the first opportunity coming only after fifteen minutes as Jonathan David's shot tested KV Mechelen goalkeeper Michael Verrips a first time. With just over half an hour on the clock the match opened up, starting with a long range free kick by Nikola Storm, who surprised everyone by aiming straight for goal. His shot hit the post, with replays showing Gent goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski had deflected the ball with his fingertips first. Referee Erik Lambrechts had not noticed and thus did not award a corner kick, allowing Gent to launch a counter-attack from which they scored. Initial shots by Nana Asare and Birger Verstraete were blocked causing a scramble in front of the KV Mechelen goal before Jean-Luc Dompé was able to benefit and open the score. KV Mechelen, who were deemed underdogs, did not give up and managed to score just a few minutes later through Storm who volleyed in the equaliser, shooting the ball between the legs of Kaminski. Rob Schoofs had the opportunity to give KV Mechelen the lead just before the half-time break, but this time Kaminski was able to make a save.

In the second half, Gent had more possession of the ball but failed to created any chances. On the hour mark, Kaminksi misjudged a free-kick by Storm, allowing Germán Mera to score through a header to put KV Mechelen in the lead. Gent took the match in control from that point on, crossing many balls into the box, with Verrips required to make several key saves, blocking shots from Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, Roman Bezus and Alexander Sørloth. Several players of KV Mechelen started suffering from cramps as they had not played any competitive match for over six weeks and the team came under severe pressure. With just minutes on the clock however, a breakaway ended in a one-on-one situation between Tim Matthys and Kaminski, but Matthys' shot was saved, handing Gent a lifeline. Odjidja-Ofoe however placed a large opportunity wide just before the final whistle, handing KV Mechelen a second Belgian Cup win.[2]

With KV Mechelen on trial for alleged match-fixing as part of the 2017–18 Belgian football fraud investigation, it remains uncertain whether they will be allowed to take part in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage for which they would normally qualify by virtue of winning the cup. In any case, if the team will be found guilty when the trial ends on May 28, the European ticket will move the to the third placed finisher in the 2018–19 Belgian First Division A Championship play-offs, not to losing finalist Gent.