Juventus’ Champions League hopes next season have been hit with a death blow as Italian Court reinstate points deduction which has pushed them from the second spot in the Serie A table to the 7th spot.
Italian football authorities, FGIC, hit Juventus with points deduction earlier this year for alleged financial irregularities.
Juventus were mired up in ‘capital gains scandal’ where they allegedly falsify the club’s financial records to avoid tax remittances to Italian football authorities.
The club came under investigations by Italian Football Federation, FGIC, leading to the resignation of top officials including the former President, Andrea Agnelli in November, last year.
It was a chaotic episode in the club’s history as they were dragged into a long legal tussle with the football authorities.
After investigations by the Italian football authorities, Juventus were slammed with a 15-point deduction which dampened the club’s chase of Champions League football next season.
The Old Ladies appealed the points deduction and fortunately had it reversed in April by Italy’s Sports Court.
The reversal of the points deduction saw the Serie A giants climb back to the Champions League spot. They were in second place behind Serie A champions Napoli. Meanwhile, investigations into the alleged scandal were still underway.
Now, a superior Italian Court has reportedly set aside the judgement of Italy’s Sport Court on the point deduction.
The 10-point deduction which was reversed in April has now been reinstated in what could be a final blow to Juventus hopes to play in European topflight next season.
The ruling comes amid the club’s struggle this season. Juventus’ 2022/23 Serie A campaign has been far from rosy. It has been marked with chaotic episodes with off-field and on-field deadlocks.
The club was recently placed on a partial ban after their fans hurled racial slurs on Romelu Lukaku. The partial ban followed the mass resignations in the club’s hierachy early in November.
Also, their marquee signing, Paul Pogba, is struggling on the sidelines a year after he joined the club from Manchester United.
The update on the ruling reinstating the point deduction was confirmed on Monday and it coincided with another disastrous Serie A outing for the Old Ladies against a lowly-rated side Empoli.
Empoli smashed the Serie A giants 4-1 to add to their miseries this season.
Despite the 10 point deduction, a win against Empoli would have boosted their Serie A top four hopes.
They could now end up without European football next season as things stand.
Meanwhile, the club has blasted the judgement by FGIC Appeal Court to reinstate the 10-point deduction and have reiterated their resolve to appeal the decision.
“Juventus Football Club takes note of what was decided a short while ago by the FIGC Court of Appeal and reserves the right to read the reasons for evaluating a possible appeal to the Guarantee Board at the CONI.
“What was ruled by the fifth instance of judgment in this affair, which began more than a year ago, arouses great bitterness in the club and in its millions of fans, who, in the absence of clear rules, find themselves extremely penalized with the application of sanctions that do not seem to take into account the principle of proportionality.
”While not ignoring the need for speed, to which Juventus has never shirked during the proceedings, it is emphasized that these are facts that have yet to be judged by the natural judge,” the club wrote.
Pending their appeal, the points deduction have been effected until a superior court overrule the decision. This means the club will have to win their next two matches against AC Milan and Udinese while hoping either Roma, Atalanta, or AC Milan stumble on the top four race, for them to qualify for Champions League next season.
