It's not over for Juventus and their fight for Champions League qualification for next season. The Bianconeri are in for a busy few weeks as a new verdict in a case centered on what's widely described in Italy as "plusvalenza" -- capital gains centered around their transfer dealings -- could come as early as Monday after their 15-point penalty was initially wiped out in April.
To make matters worse, the club is now expected to stand a new trial in June over allegations of salary wrongdoing involving irregularities in payments to players as well as undue relationships with agents and other clubs, the Italian FA (FIGC) announced on Friday.
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The prosecutor also announced the involvement of former chairman Andrea Agnelli, former vice-president Pavel Nedved, former director of football Fabio Paratici, current sport director Federico Cherubini, former U-23 director Giovanni Manna, former head of football operations Paolo Morganti and former youth sport director Stefano Braghin.
All of them are accused of violating Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the sports justice code and relating to four different lines of the investigation. The salary maneuver during the 2019-20 season, and for the following season, agents and partnership relationships with other clubs.
Apart of the salaries and the relationships with agents that are being investigated, there are also partnerships "for confidential agreements" with six clubs. Among them: Sampdoria, Atalanta, Sassuolo, Udinese, Bologna and Cagliari. The positions of the six clubs will be assessed with the investigation still ongoing. It is alleged by the FIGC prosecutor's office that Juventus agreed to pay players most of their COVID-19-related wage cuts without properly accounting for it.
This is Juventus' second trial after the Italian Olympic Committee, Collegio di Garanzia, the highest sporting court in Italy, announced it has decided to overturn the punishment for financial rules violations from the Italian FA (FIGC) announced back in January, though the case is not over.
The committee partially agreed with Juve's appeal and postponed a final decision to the Italian FA appeals court (Corte d'Appello) to reconsider the case. A verdict could come as early as Monday. Juventus initially faced a 15-point deduction, before the case was partially overturned.
Aside from the two trials, the club is also dealing with the Prisma investigation by the Italian civil justice. The ongoing investigation was started by the Turin Prosecutor's office over the club's financial statements with the Bianconeri accused of false accounting, market manipulation and false corporate disclosures. In particular, prosecutors believe that Juventus, between 2019 and 2021, have made use of several capital gains to cover gaps in the financial statements.
On Thursday, Juventus were eliminated by Sevilla in the semifinals of the Europa League. Had they won the competitions, they would have secured a spot in next season's Champions League. They sit second in Serie A with 69 points with three games to go on the season. They have a three-point advantage on third place Inter and sit four points ahead of fourth place Lazio.
