Former Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio has hit out at the Italian football federation for the sanctions imposed upon his former club, in the wake of a capital gains fraud judgement.
He has suggested that the Turin giants are just one of several clubs inflating player values during transfers.
The Bianconeri languish in 10th position in Serie A and will struggle to qualify for next season’s Champions League after the Federal Court of Appeal handed down a 15-point deduction last week and could yet face further sanctions for allegedly failing to declare certain wage payments.
Marchisio speaks his mind
The 37-year-old was one of the first ex-Juventus players to share his anger at the punishment, taking to Twitter on the night of the original decision. He announced that: “It is called capital gain: In economic language, an increase in value, a positive difference between two values of the same asset referring to different moments.”
Marchisio’s also said: “I would also add that only Juventus is sanctioned, even if used by all clubs,” which seemed more pointed. With several Italian clubs involved in the initial investigation, it saw Sampdoria, Pro Vercelli, Genoa, Parma, Pisa, Empoli, Novara and Pescara acquitted of similar misdemeanours.
When the Old Lady were punished for their involvement in the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal in 2006 and relegated to Serie B, it arguably proved the catalyst for the midfielder’s career with the club. He played 25 times as the Bianconeri were promoted back to the top flight and eventually made 389 appearances during a 12-year association.
Points now the priority for Juventus
While Juventus plan their appeal and then await the resulting ruling, coach Massimiliano Allegri and his players will be focusing on claiming as many points as possible in the coming weeks. However, they got off to a terrible start drawing 3-3 against Atalanta in Turin on Sunday night and could face further embarrassment against Monza on Matchday 20.
The newly promoted side defeated the Bianconeri in September 2022 with a solitary goal from Christian Gytkjaer and would become the first side since Inter in 1930 to win their first two Serie A fixtures against them, but that was the only loss in six against promoted sides Juventus have suffered.
