Juventus Hit With 15 League Points Deduction Over Transfers

Juventus has been docked 15 league points for the current season by an Italian soccer court looking into its transfer activities, according to a statement from the national soccer federation (FIGC).

The decision, which damages the club’s reputation as well, is more severe than the nine-point reduction a soccer prosecutor had asked for at a hearing earlier in the day regarding the manner Juventus and a few other teams handled player exchange arrangements.

Juve was third in Serie A with 37 points after 20 games this season, 10 points behind champions Napoli. They drop to 10th place as a result of the 15 league points deduction, outside of the spots necessary to qualify for lucrative European play.

The court also barred 11 former and present Juventus directors from holding office in Italian soccer in a late-night statement.

These included 30 months for former sports director Fabio Paratici, who is currently managing director of football at English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, and 24 months for Andrea Agnelli, who was officially replaced as chairman last week after stepping down in November.

Juventus declared that it will file an appeal with the country’s sports guarantee authority after the ruling’s justifications were made public.

“We consider this to be a blatant injustice also for millions of fans, which we trust will soon be remedied in the next court,” lawyers for the club said in a statement.

Juventus has asserted that its accounting complied with industry norms and denied any misconduct.

The judgement overturned another made in April that exonerated Juventus, 10 other clubs, and their management from wrongdoing.

Football officials reopened the case and asked that portions of the original ruling be overturned in order to review fresh evidence gathered by public prosecutors in the city of Turin who are looking into Juventus’ finances.

The court affirmed the dismissal of prosecutors’ requests to revive the case against eight additional soccer teams, including Serie A teams Sampdoria and Empoli, and their directors.

Public prosecutors in Turin have asked Agnelli, 11 other individuals, and the club itself to stand trial as a result of suspicions of dishonest accounting.