(Football news) Juventus have received a 10 point deduction in the Serie A after a new hearing came to this conclusion due to the club’s past transfer dealings. The Italian club were initially handed a 15 point penalty but the decision was overturned in April by Italy’s highest sporting court who ordered the case to be re-examined. The new ruling was announced before the team’s 4-1 defeat against Empoli.

The decision to deduct 10 points was announced on Monday before Juventus lost 4-1 to Empoli in the Serie A, dropping the club to seventh place in the league and outside the European qualification spots. The club were in 2nd place before the points deduction, 17 points behind Napoli who won the Serie A title. Speaking about the verdict, Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri said “It was a strange situation, 10 minutes before the match the sentence came out. Summing up a season in an evening like this is an understatement. Juventus are used to winning, we have to close ranks.”

In April, a tribunal at Italy’s Olympic Committee (CONI) overturned Juventus’ 15 point penalty from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) appeals court. The appeals court was asked to revise the punishment, not just on the club but also former officials such as vice-chairman Panvel Nedved, who received an eight month suspension. Nedved has now been acquitted alongside club officials Paolo Garimberti, Assia Grazioli Venier, Caitlin Mary Hughes, Daniela Marilungo, Francesco Roncaglio and Enrico Vellano. A statement released by Juventus said that the club “takes note” of the decision and “reserves the right to read the reasons to evaluate a possible appeal” to CONI.

It added “What was established by the fifth instance of judgment in this matter, which began more than a year ago, arouses great bitterness in the club and in its millions of supporters who, in the absence of clear rules, find themselves extremely penalised with the application of sanctions that seem to take into account the principle of proportionality. While not ignoring the need for urgency, which Juventus has never shied away from during the proceedings, it is emphasised that these are facts that still have to be evaluated by a judge.”

Juventus’ loss against Empoli leaves them five points behind AC Milan and the two sides are set to play at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday. The club is also undergoing criminal proceedings over accounting practices with 12 current and former players potentially facing trial. According to news agencies in Italy, a high court hearing on 26th October will decide whether an eventual trial will be held in Turin or in Milan or Rome.

Juventus have been handed a points deduction after an investigation on the club’s transfer dealings from 2019 to 2021 was revealed. The club were accused of fixing their balance sheets by around 60m euros from club transfers and they were subsequently found guilty of those charges by FIGC’s appeals court in January. The club have denied any wrongdoing and took the case to a tribunal at the Olympic Committee, which is Italy’s highest sporting court.

As a result of the debacle, Agnelli and the rest of the club’s board stepped down in November. A statement was released that said the resignations were “considered to be in the best social interest to recommend that Juventus equip itself with a new board of directors to address these issues”. Agnelli had been chairman of the club for 13 years during which time Juventus won nine consecutive Serie A titles and reached two Champions League finals, However, they recorded a loss of £220m, the highest ever for an Italian club.

Agnelli and Arrivabene were subsequently banned from Italian football for two years while Cherubini and Paratici were suspended for 16 months and two and a half years respectively. Paratici went on to become managing director of Tottenham before the ruling in January but his suspension was extended worldwide by FIFA in March. Juventus are also currently facing an investigation by UEFA over breaching over Financial Fair Play regulations and club licensing, which was announced in March earlier this year.

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