ROME (AP) – Juventus received a new 10-point suspension Monday, putting their hopes of qualifying for the next Champions League in jeopardy.
The latest punishment for false accounting saw La Vecchia Signora drop from second to seventh in Serie A.
Hours after the penalty was announced, the Bianconeri lost 4–1 to modest Empoli.
Juventus were five points behind Milan, who moved up to fourth in the Italian league, which awards the last ticket to Europe’s top club tournament. There are barely two days left in the season including the Juventus-Milan duel next Sunday.
The Turin club received a 15-point fine in January. Several members of its previous board of directors were banned from exercising in football, including former chairman Andrea Agnelli.
The removal of the points was suspended last month after an appeal from the country’s highest sports body, which exercises within the Italian Olympic Committee, and returned the matter to the federation’s appeals body for a new trial.
The same was done on Monday. During a three-hour hearing, federation prosecutor Giuseppe Chin demanded an 11-point penalty for Juventus. He requested a fine of nine units in January.
China also requested eight-month suspensions for seven club officials, including Pavel Nedved, but all were acquitted on Monday. Appeals by Agnelli and three other officers were rejected last month.
Juve’s board of directors resigned en masse last November following an investigation by prosecutors in Turin into irregular handling of their accounts.
In one sporting instance the trial was restarted and supported with information provided by Turin prosecutors, resulting in reduced points. Juve was cleared by the sports court last April.
Prosecutors in Turin charged the club, Agnelli and 11 others with false communications, obstruction of financial watchdog agencies, false accounting and stock market manipulation by a company registered to trade on the Milan stock exchange.
Juve’s legal troubles escalated last week when the Italian federation accused the club and seven officials of alleged fraud in dealing with pay cuts during the coronavirus pandemic.
