Italian club Juventus received a historic 15-point deduction for the current Serie A season as the Bianconer was embroiled in a financial scandal. The punishment for a number of financial violations could see extend to around 23 of their past and present players, resulting in suspensions and other reprimands for their involvement in the scandal.
Prosecutors had initially asked for a nine-point deduction but a harsher punishment was served which pushed the 36-time champions from third in the league down to 10th. The suspension has nearly ended their chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League through the league. But the Old Lady still has a chance to win the Europa League, having dropped down, in order to qualify.
As per Italian journalist Paolo Ziliani, if the players are caught accepting falsely lower wages then could be handed a 30+ day suspension, even if they're no longer part of th Turin club. The list could include Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, along with the newest Al Nassr signing Cristiano Ronaldo.
Zialini said that as part of the investigation, "All members involved were questioned and admitted the circumstances. Two players, Matthijs de Ligt and Mattia De Sciglio provided the magistrates with a copy of the Whatsapp chat in which Giorgio Chiellini explained the scam to everyone, suggesting not to mention it to journalists."
Along with the 15-point reduction, former chairman Andrea Agnelli has suffered a 24-month ban. Similarly, a 30-month ban was also issued for their former sports director Fabio Paratici, who is now the managing director of football at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Addressing the ban, Juventus released a statement calling the issue ‘a blatant injustice’. The statement read, "We consider this to be a blatant injustice also for millions of fans, which we trust will soon be remedied in the next court.”
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