Several phrases used in the Collegio di Garanzia decision present big problems for Juventus lawyers, in particular the confirmation that capital gains were “systematically” inflated with “clear effects on sporting fairness”.
The verdict was delivered on April 20, suspending the 15-point penalty in Serie A and sending the situation back to the Federal Court for a new decision which is now expected to be issued within 30 days.
The reason for the verdict was released today and experts have pored through the 75 pages of legal explanations to see what it could mean for Juventus in the future.
The general assumption is that Juve will still have moored points, but more likely nine rather than 15, which would still currently be enough to rule them out of the Champions League places.
Reading the documents, certain sentences stand out and bode very badly for the Bianconeri lawyers.
The first is the confirmation that the violation of article 4, therefore of fair play and probity, opposes the club and the managers Andrea Agnelli, Fabio Paratici, Maurizio Arrivabene and Federico Cherubini.
A paragraph in the reasoning explains that the previous decision to clear Juventus and other clubs of wrongdoing in April 2022 was changed by evidence showing “the existence of systematic and repeated behaviour, forming part of a a pre-arranged plan to modify transfer transactions and their relative values, which produced clear effects (which were intended by those involved) on the club’s documents and balance sheets.
“Therefore, given the relevance of the elements that emerged, also affected their fair participation in sports competition.”
The appeals court therefore confirmed that Juventus systematically inflated transfer fees in order to increase capital gains, thus balancing the books and allowing them to build a stronger team than they would have otherwise with more “regular” accounting methods.
Juventus had hoped to dismantle the very basis of the accusation, arguing that there was no way to independently verify a player’s value other than what the two clubs decide in their negotiations, but this approach has been rejected.
It could also have a ripple effect for any future lawsuits involving capital gains, as investigations continue into other deals with Juve, not to mention their deals with several different clubs.
The only reason Juventus had their original April 2022 verdict of innocence overturned on appeal was the addition of new evidence from Prisma’s police investigation into their finances, including wiretaps and documents confiscated.
If the FIGC therefore considers this type of behavior to be illicit and sufficient to alter sporting results, the same approach could be used against other clubs and against Juventus in the future when the next trials are ready.
2023-05-09 02:58:27
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