Italian football team FC Juventus will challenge a decision by the governing body of football in Europe, UEFA, to remove the club from European competition next season.
The club’s president, Gianluca Ferrero, said he “regrets” the decision and remains “firmly convinced of the legitimacy of our actions”, but decided “not to appeal this judgment”.
The UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) has found Juventus guilty of breaking Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, namely in providing fictitious information on the amounts of player transfers and underreporting employee spending and salaries.
These movements allegedly increased the club’s capital by 700 million euros.
Juventus will have to pay a 10 million euro fine, which will double if the club’s annual accounts for the next three years do not meet the FFP requirements.
Earlier this season, in the same framework of cases, Juventus was stripped of 10 points in the Italian championship, thereby missing out on its chances of grabbing gold.
The club came 7th in the table, ending up having to compete in Europa Conference League instead of the Champions League or even the Europa League. Now, after UEFA’s ruling, its European dream has completely died.
The club’s management denies any wrongdoing but has said it accepts the decision in order to avoid further fines, bans, or suspensions.
