The Juventus penalty of -15 points in the ranking it takes into account the “particular severity and of nature repeated and prolonged infringement” which has been demonstrated by the investigations into the thorny issue of capital gains that emerged following the transfers of football players. This is what is revealed by the motivations of the FIGC Federal Court36 pages made public yesterday, which had an immediate impact on the stock on the Stock Exchange.
Stock market reaction
The reaction of Piazza Affari to the publication of the reasons was immediately negative. Already at the start of the negotiations, the club shares they didn’t make a price, and then re-enter the deal at a lower price. The day closed with trading around a value of 0.2946 euro, down by about 2.5% compared to Friday and with 20 million capitalization gone up in smoke. In a month the title has already lost 8.4% of its value.
The motivations of the Court of Appeal of the FIGC
The Court of Appealswhich last January 20 ordered a major penalty of -15 points in the standings to the Juventus club, aggravating the penalty requested by the federal prosecutor’s office which was -9 points, he explained that the sentence has “taking into account the precedents which involved accounting alterations that lasted for several financial years, or rsignificant dimensions and intensity, which in the past have led to penalties of fluctuating value but, in some cases, even significant”.
“The new fact that was not known before is precisely the unveiling of the underlying intentionality to the alteration of the transfer operations and of the relative values”, explains the Court, also making reference to the “presence of a fraudulent system from the outset”.
The football team – explains the Court – “came to systematically plan the realization of capital gains regardless of the very identification of the subject to be exchanged, often indicated with a simple “X” next to the name of the FC Juventus player to be sold and obviously next to the pre-established number of capital gains to be realised”.
What strikes the judges is also the “pervasiveness at every level of the awareness of the artificiality of the modus operandi of the company itself”, which it has involved 11 executives at each level, for which a series of inhibitions have been placed.
As for the other acquitted companies, it is said that “the suspicion that may possibly be inferred with regard to the aforementioned companies is not sufficient to determine a conviction. Hence the Court’s decision to “keep the positions regarding Juventus distinct from the other teams”.
The replica of the club
The Juventus club has already announced that will appeal to the Guarantee College at CONI within the foreseen 30 days, believing that the motivations of the FIGC Court of Appeal were a “predictable document in terms of content, in the light of the heavy decision, but vitiated by obvious illogicality, lack of motivation and groundlessness in terms of law”.
“Day fwave of reasons dJuventus – informs a note – will be asserted firmly, albeit with the respect due to the institutions that issued it”.
The CONI Board will be able to evaluate any procedural defects, incorrect interpretations of the rules of sports justice or violations of the right of defence.
