Plusvalenze: Juventus in the clear after club hierarchy acquitted

Juventus escaped punishment from the Plusvalenze trial after all suspected members of the club’s hierarchy were acquitted less than a week after the trial got underway.

An investigation into Juventus was launched by the Public Prosecutor’s Office last November regarding possible false accounting on the club’s behalf. The Bianconeri were initially accused of manipulating transfer figures to balance their books but they were cleared of any wrongdoing in February.

The club were then subject to a second investigation in the new year regarding the freezing of monthly player payments at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Such agreements with players, which would have been filed through private contracts, would have allowed Juventus to record a cost reduction in the 2020 and 2021 financial statements.

Juventus in the clear after Plusvalenze trial brought to a close

A drawn-out battle between the accused clubs and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) was expected. But, in a hugely surprising turn of events, all 11 clubs and the 59 individuals accused by prosecutors have been acquitted during the first trial.

The Italian Prosecutor’s Office were reportedly seeking heavy punishments for those involved. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, prominent members of Juventus’ hierarchy, including President Andrea Agnelli and former director Fabio Paratici, risked being banned for upwards of six months with the club potentially being fined as much as €800,000.

However, all charges from the FIGC have now been dropped after the judges agreed with the argument put forward by Juventus’ lawyers that there was no definitive way to gauge the value of a player.

Thus, the premise for the prosecutor’s case was deemed flawed.

Juve’s legal issues are not yet over, however. The club is still being investigated by Turin prosecutors over alleged inflated capital gains from 2019 to 2021.