Black day for Juventus as Serie A side hits wrong accounting for 10-point penalty, misses out on Champions League spot

Juventus were hit with a 10-point penalty, hampering their chances of qualifying for next year’s Champions League. The latest punishment for false accounting saw Juventus drop from second to seventh in Serie A.

This left the Bianconeri five points behind AC Milan, in 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 will still be in its own hands when it plays Milan next weekend. But shortly after the penalty – Massimiliano Allegri’s team lost 4–1 at Empoli.

Two rounds left. Juventus said in a statement that it could appeal the penalty, stretching the situation until the end of the season.

“What was established by the fifth instance of the decision in this case, which began more than a year ago, causes great bitterness at the club and among millions of its supporters, who, in the absence of clear rules, find themselves with the application severely punished. Sanctions that do not take into account the principle of proportionality,” Juventus said.

“While not ignoring the necessity of urgency, which Juventus has never overcome in the course of the proceedings, it is emphasized that these are facts which still have to be assessed by a judge.”

Jose Mourinho is not happy that Juventus got 10 points today

“For me it’s a joke, knowing these 2 games from the end of the season is strange for everyone, even Juventus.”

“If you had told me this before our games against Monza or Bologna, we would have had a different approach_ pic.twitter.com/RNMf2sXuAu– Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) May 22, 2023

Juventus were fined 15 points in January and several board members were banned from football activities, including former president Andrea Agnelli. The points deduction was suspended last month on appeal to the country’s highest sports court within the Italian Olympic Committee and sent back to the football federation’s appeals court for a new trial.

This happened on Monday. During the three-hour hearing, the federation’s prosecutor, Giuseppe Chin – requested an 11-point penalty for Juventus. He had asked for nine back in January. The appeals of Agnelli and three others were rejected last month.

The Juventus board resigned en masse in November following an investigation by Turin’s public prosecutors into alleged false bookkeeping. A sports trial in the case was re-opened based on information from Turin prosecutors, leading to a deduction of points. Juventus were initially cleared by the sports court last April.

Prosecutors in Turin have charged Juventus, Agnelli and 11 others with false communications, obstructing surveillance agencies, false billing and market manipulation by a company publicly listed on the Milan stock exchange.

Juventus’ legal troubles deepened last week after the Italian football federation charged the club and seven former team directors with alleged fraud over the way they cut player wages during the coronavirus pandemic.