Juventus Receives 10-Points Deduction, Drops Out Of Champions League
Serie A side, Juventus has received a 10-point deduction in a new ruling by an Italian court investigating the club’s transfer dealings.
Before the new ruling, Juventus were in second place behind Serie A champions Napoli with 69 points, but drops down to seventh place, five points off a Champions League place.
The decision was announced within moments of the club’s Monday night game at Empoli kicking off – and perhaps influenced by the news, Juventus’ three-game winning run was brought to a crashing halt by a 4-1 defeat to their mid-table hosts. That result, combined with the new sanctions, leaves their top-four hopes all but over.
During a three-hour hearing on Monday, federation prosecutor Giuseppe Chine requested an 11-point penalty for Juventus. He had asked for nine back in January.
Chine also requested eight-month bans for seven former Juventus directors, including Pavel Nedved, but all were exonerated by the Federal Court of Appeals. The ex-Juve winger and the rest of the club’s board had resigned en masse in November amid the allegations.
Fabio Paratici, who resigned his position as Tottenham’s director of football earlier this year due to a worldwide football ban linked to the scandal, has not been cleared. Former chairman Agnelli and two others also had appeals against their charges rejected last month.
An official ruling read: “The Federal Court of Appeals hereby absolves Pavel Nedved, Paolo Garimberti, Assia Grazioli Venier, Caitlin Mary Hughes, Daniela Marilungo, Francesco Roncaglio, and Enrico Vellano from the alleged offences and imposes a 10-point deduction on Juventus in the standings, to be applied for the current season.”
