Juventus has been penalized with a fresh 10-point deduction, which hampers their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. This latest punishment for false accounting has dropped Juventus from the second spot in Serie A to seventh.
This leaves the Bianconeri five points behind AC Milan, which moved into fourth place in Serie A and the final qualifying spot for the Champions League. The chances of qualifying for the premier European club competition would still have been in their favor, as the team plays against Milan next weekend, but shortly after the sentence, Massimiliano Allegri’s team lost 4-1 to Empoli.
The penalty is appealable, and Juventus intends to do so. There are still two rounds left for the Serie A competition. The club stated that the ruling establishes “great bitterness” among millions of supporters, who feel “extremely penalized” and believe that the sanctions do not take into account the principle of proportionality. Juventus pointed out that these are facts that still have to be evaluated by a judge.
Jose Mourinho is NOT happy that Juventus got docked 10 points today _
“For me its a joke, knowing this 2 games from the end of the season is weird for everyone, even Juventus.”
“If you told me this before our games against Monza or Bologna we would’ve had a different approach_ pic.twitter.com/RNMf2sXuAu
— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) May 22, 2023
Juventus was handed a 15-point penalty in January, and several board members, including former president Andrea Agnelli, were banned from soccer activities. The points deduction had been suspended last month after an appeal to the country’s highest sports court within the Italian Olympic Committee.
The case was referred back to the soccer federation’s appeals court for a new trial, which took place on Monday, where federation prosecutor Giuseppe Chin requested an 11-point penalty for Juventus. He had asked for nine in January. Agnelli and three others had their appeals rejected last month.
After the investigation by Turin public prosecutors into alleged false bookkeeping, the Juventus board resigned en masse in November. The investigators found that the way the club handled player salary cuts during the coronavirus pandemic was fraudulent, leading to further charges by the Italian soccer federation against the club and seven former team directors on last week.