Juventus have released an official statement to acknowledge the fact that they have been handed a points deduction by the Federal Court of Appeal.
As well as being deducted 15 points which will affect the current Serie A table and sees the Bianconeri drop to 11th place ahead of their game against Atalanta, 11 individuals have been handed bans from working within the FIGC and it could be extended to UEFA and FIFA.
What have Juventus said?
Juventus responded to the ruling, which can be appealed, on Friday evening. The limited statement acknowledges the ruling that has been handed down and the club confirmed that they will appeal the ruling.
“Juventus Football Club S.p.A. (“Juventus” or the “Company”) informs that the Federal Court of Appeal, Unified Sections, having regard to the appeal for revocation pursuant to Article 63 of the Sport Justice Code brought by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, declared the appeal for revocation admissible and thus revoked the decision of the Federal Court of Appeals, Unified Sections, No. 0089/CFA2021-2022 of 27 May 2022 and, as a result, ordered the penalty of 15 points in the standing for Juventus to be deducted in the current Sport Season and the temporary inhibition for the Sporting Director, Federico Cherubini, from carrying out activities in the FIGC context for 16 months, with a request for extension in the UEFA and FIFA contexts,” the statement reads.
“Pursuant to the revoked decision, the Federal Court of Appeals had rejected the appeal (“reclamo”) brought by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office against the decision of the National Federal Court, which, in turn, had acquitted Juventus and the other parties charged for because of the lack of any disciplinary offence with regard to the evaluation of the effects of certain transfers of players’ rights on financial statements and the accounting of capital gains.
“The Company awaits the publication of the reasons of the decision and announces as of now the bringing of an appeal to the Sport Guarantee Board (Collegio di Garanzia dello Sport) in accordance with the terms of the Sport Justice Code.”
What is happening at Juventus?
The news that originally broke on November 28, 2022, when the entire Juventus board resigned came as the club were being investigated for suspicious transfer activity whereby they allegedly inflated values of players for reasons of capital gains. The financial statements from 2018, 2019 and 2020 are being looked into by investigators. There may also be questions regarding allegedly deferred payments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the spring and summer of 2020, as many as 23 Juventus players agreed to reduce their salaries over a four-month period at the club. This was thought to be to help the club navigate its way through a trying financial period. But, it has since been alleged that the players’ salaries were paid, but in a way that would have permitted for tax payments to be avoided by both club and player and for it to seem as though Juventus’ books balanced. Should these accusations be proven, the club would face charges of financial fraud.
Who resigned from Juventus?
Prior to that night of November 28, 2022, Juventus’ board of directors consisted of Agnelli, Nedved, Arrivabene, Laurence Debroux, Massimo Della Ragione, Kathryn Fink, Daniela Marilungo, Francesco Roncaglio, Giorgio Tacchia and Suzanne Heywood. The club confirmed that they had resigned then, in late-November.
