Juventus hit by 10-point penalty, drop out of CL spots
Empoli’s Francesco Caputo (second right) scores his side’s third goal during the Serie A match between Empoli and Juventus, at the Carlo Castellani stadium in Empoli, Italy yesterday. Empoli won 4-1.
Juventus were hit with a fresh 10-point penalty yesterday, hampering their chances of qualifying for next year’s Champions League.
The latest punishment for false accounting dropped Juventus from second spot in Serie A to seventh.
It left the Bianconeri five points behind AC Milan, who moved into fourth place in Serie A and the final qualifying spot for the Champions League.
Juve’s chances of qualifying for Europe’s premier club competition would still have been in their own hands as they play Milan next weekend. But – shortly after the sentence – Massimiliano Allegri’s team lost at Empoli 4-1.
There are two rounds remaining.
Juventus said in a statement that they could appeal the penalty, dragging the situation out until after the end of the season.
“What was established by the fifth instance of judgment in this matter, which began more than a year ago, arouses great bitterness in the club and in its millions of supporters who, in the absence of clear rules, find themselves extremely penalised with the application of sanctions that do not seem to take into account the principle of proportionality,” Juventus added.
“While not ignoring the need for urgency, which Juventus has never shied away from during the proceedings, it is emphasised that these are facts that still have to be evaluated by a judge.”
Juventus were handed a 15-point penalty in January, and several board members were also banned from football activities, including former president Andrea Agnelli.
The points deduction was suspended last month on an appeal to the country’s highest sports court within the Italian Olympic Committee and referred back to the football federation’s appeals court for a new trial.
That took place yesterday. During the three-hour hearing, federation prosecutor Giuseppe Chiné requested an 11-point penalty for Juventus. He had asked for nine back in January.
Chiné also requested eight-month bans for seven former Juventus directors, including Pavel Nedvěd, but they were cleared yesterday.
Agnelli and three others had their appeals rejected last month.
The Juventus board resigned en masse in November following an investigation by Turin public prosecutors into alleged false bookkeeping.
A sports trial in the case was then reopened based on information from the Turin prosecutors, leading to the points deduction. Juventus had initially been cleared by the sports court the previous April.