Amongst the punishments handed out to various individuals for their role in Juventus‘ capital gains fraud case, that of Maurizio Arrivabene stands out for the length in comparison to his time actually served at the club.
On a stunning evening for Serie A on Friday, the Bianconeri were hit with a deduction of 15 points by the Federal Court of Appeal following an investigation into alleged artificial gains through transfers, in order to balance the club’s books.
As highlighted by TuttoMercatoWeb, Arrivabene, who served as CEO of Juventus from 2021 until his resignation along with the rest of the board of directors in November, is one of 11 people to have been slapped with a ban from football activity in Italy, although this could be extended to the wider jurisdiction of UEFA and FIFA.
Juventus points deduction
Juventus have been hit with a deduction of 15 points by the Federal Court of Appeal, going beyond the requests made by the FIGC Prosecutor’s Office following the controversial capital gains case. Eleven individuals have also been hit with bans.
Although the Prosecutor’s Office had only requested a nine-point deduction for Juventus, the club will have 15 points taken from their current tally in Serie A, as the penalty will be applied immediately. That will see them drop from third to 10th in the Serie A table, even below city rivals Torino, and they will be level on 22 points with Bologna and Empoli.
Juventus capital gains case: Bans handed down
As many as 11 executives who have had links to Juventus have been slapped with bans as well. Fabio Paratici – currently working at Premier League side Tottenham – has been hit with a 30-month ban, which is the longest of the lot. Maurizio Arrivabene and Andrea Agnelli are each banned for 24 months, Federico Cherubini is banned for 16 months.
Pavel Nedved, Paolo Garimberti, Enrico Vellano, Assia Grazioli Venier, Caitlin Mary Hughes, Daniela Marilungo and Francesco Roncaglio will all serve eight-month bans.
“The Federal Court of Appeal chaired by Mario Luigi Torsello has partially accepted the appeal of the FIGC Prosecutor’s Office… sanctioning Juventus with a 15-point penalty to be served in the current season and with a number of bans for 11 Bianconeri executives,” read an FIGC statement on Friday, January 20.
Arrivabene banned for two years
The former Scuderia Ferrari team principal stands out as being the only person sanctioned to be given a ban that exceeds the length of time that they had served in the job.
Indeed, he had only been in the position for 19 months, but must now serve a ban of 24 months for his role in the scandal.
The 65-year-old was heavily implicated in the capitals gains fraud case, and his two-year suspension is the joint-second heaviest punishment issued by the Federal Court of Appeal, alongside former President Andrea Agnelli.
Only ex-sporting director Fabio Paratici, currently at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur after departing Juventus in June 2021, is facing a lengthier punishment, after receiving a 30-month ban.
Arrivabene had been on the board at Juventus since 2012, but only took up an active role as CEO from June 2021.
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.
