Serie A Juventus, ‘Fraud Accounting’, Severe Punishment of..
Serie A Juventus, ‘Fraud Accounting’, Severe Punishment of Points -15… It’s hard to make it to the Champions League.
Italy’s Serie A prestigious Juventus club, which has been embroiled in allegations of accounting fraud, was punished by 15 points cut this season. Juventus fell from third to 10th in the league due to the disciplinary action, greatly reducing its chances of winning as well as advancing to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League (UCL).
According to AP and Reuters, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) imposed heavy penalties on Juventus on the 20th, including △ 15 points reduction △ 8 months to 2 years and 6 months suspension of activities for former and current leaders of the club. Former general manager Fabio Paratic was punished for the longest two-and-a-half years, former chairman Andrea Anili for two years, and former vice chairman Pavel Nedved for eight months. Federico Kerubini, the current leader, will also be banned from soccer-related activities for a year and four months.
This is a federation-level decision that came less than a day after prosecutor Giuseppe Kigne of the FIGC requested disciplinary action. Both the range of points cuts and the suspension period have become stronger than he suggested. Prosecutor Kikine earlier asked former chairman Anilie to be suspended for 1 year and 4 months and Paratici for 1 year and 8 months and 10 days.
The Juventus club is suspected of deliberately over-setting the transfer fee to balance the accounts. Former chairman Anilley, who led Juventus’ golden age for 13 years, resigned disgracefully in November last year along with all the remaining board members, including Vice Chairman Nedned, on charges of fraudulent accounting.
Juventus, however, is in a position that it cannot accept the FIGC’s decision. The club said it will consider the sports security committee under the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), the highest level in its sports-related disputes, as soon as the specific reasons for disciplinary action are disclosed.
Juventus was in third place (37 points) with 11 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses in 18 league games this season. With Napoli (47 points), where Kim Min-jae plays, leading the way, Juventus was fiercely competing for second place with AC Milan (38 points) and Inter Milan (37 points). There are 20 games left until the end of the season, and if the points fall to 22, the competition for the championship will be virtually far away.
In particular, it has become unclear whether he will advance to UCL next season. Lazio, Atalanta, and AS Roma (34 points), the Maginot Line to UCL, are competing, 12 points higher than Juventus, which has been disciplined.