After the Italian soccer authorities punished Juventus with a 15 points deduction for their transfer dealings on Monday, the club’s reputation and immediate sporting prospects took a hit. Shares of Juventus fell by about 10%.
Juventus, the club with the most Italian league titles, are currently ninth in the Serie A rankings and will have a tough time making it into the lucrative European competition.
Juventus drew 3-3 with Atalanta on Sunday night at home, their first game since the announcement of the 15-point deduction late Friday.
The club said it would wait for the decision’s grounds, which are expected by the end of the month, but it still intends to challenge the punishment at an upper sporting court at the Italian Olympic Committee.
“We believe we’re in a strong position, and we’ll continue down this path,” new Juventus CEO Maurizio Scanavino reassured in a statement on Sunday evening.
Maurizio further claimed that supporters of other clubs disagreed with the verdict as well.
Juventus has been dealing with investigations from sporting and legal authorities for their accounting, which the club’s management insists conforms with industry standards.
Further sporting repercussions may result from the club’s purported agreement to reimburse players for the majority of their COVID-related pay reductions without properly accounting for them.
“We must be prepared for everything. Scanavino stated, “Unfortunately, this sentence has taught us that it’s pointless to be optimistic or pessimistic.” He added that he expected the team to bounce back and get lots of points in their coming games.
In Turin, a court hearing is expected at the end of March to decide whether to order a trial for the club, 11 other individuals, including the former chairman Andrea Agnelli, and the club for claims of false accounting.
The club’s stock fell 8.5%, underperforming a 0.2 percentage point decline in the Italian All-Share Index (FTITLMS), and they are on pace to have their worst day since April 2021.
