Juventus were handed a 10-point deduction from Serie A on Monday following a review of the club’s initial 15-point penalty for unauthorized transfer activity. The new sanction, announced by the Italian Football Federation’s (FIGC) appeals court, seriously tarnishes Juventus’ hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, pushing them out of the top four with two games left this season season. Juventus have competed in Europe’s elite competition in each of the past 11 seasons, dating back to 2012.
In April, Italy’s highest sporting court, the Sports Guarantee Board, revoked the 15-point penalty imposed on Juve by the FIGC’s appeals court and referred the case to a new ruling.
It asked the appeals court to review the sentences imposed on the club and some key figures, including former vice-chairman Pavel Nedved, who was acquitted on Monday.
Juventus said they “reserve the right” to appeal the latest decision to the Sports Guarantee Board.
“While not ignoring the need for urgency, which Juventus has never shied away from during the proceedings, it is emphasized that these are facts yet to be assessed by a judge,” the Turin giants said on Twitter.
Long suspensions of former chairman Andrea Agnelli, ex-CEO Maurizio Arrivabene and sporting directors Federico Cherubini and Fabio Paratici were upheld in April.
But Juventus’ hopes that the points deduction would be canceled entirely were quashed on Monday.
The men of Massimiliano Allegri, who finished second in the top flight, fall back to seventh place in the ranking.
Juventus are now five points behind fourth-placed AC Milan and will host the losing Champions League semi-finalists in their penultimate game of the season this weekend.
Juve then visit Udinese in their final game of the season on June 4.
The ‘Old Lady’ had a chance to come within two points of Milan when they took on Empoli shortly after the points deduction was announced on Monday.
But they slipped to a surprise 4-1 defeat to end a miserable day for the two-time European champions.
The FIGC’s decision and the result in Empoli also mean that Lazio, who replaced Juve in second place, have qualified for the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2020 and only the second time since 2007.
Inter Milan, who finished third, Atalanta and Roma have all also moved up one place in the Serie A standings.
Juventus are also embroiled in criminal proceedings over their accounting practices with 12 current and former key figures, including Agnelli, potentially on trial.
According to Italian news agencies, a Supreme Court hearing on October 26 will decide whether any trial will take place in Turin, where the investigation took place, or in Milan or Rome.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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