UEFA has booted Juventus out of this season’s Europa League and fined them for breaking Financial Fair Play (FFP) criteria.
Chelsea was also penalized by European football’s regulatory body for violating FFP guidelines by “submitting incomplete financial information.”
According to UEFA the issue concerns transactions that occurred between 2012 and 2019.
Juventus was penalized £17.14 million, while Chelsea was fined £8.57 million.
The Italian club would only have to pay half of their sentence provided their financial records for the next three years are in order, whereas Chelsea has already agreed to pay the settlement amount.
The Blues have spent roughly £600 million on 19 new players since new owner Todd Boehly took over in May 2022, but their sanction is based on a seven-year period when Roman Abramovich was in charge.
According to UEFA, “following the club’s sale in May 2022, the new ownership identified and proactively reported to Uefa instances of potentially incomplete financial reporting under the club’s previous ownership.”
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) must now notify Uefa of which team will take Juve’s spot in Europe’s third division. Fiorentina, who finished seventh in Serie A and were defeated by West Ham in last year’s final, is the most likely candidate.
The action against Juventus stems from a 718,000 euro (£620,000) punishment imposed as part of a settlement agreement reached with Italian football authorities regarding the payment of player salaries.
Juventus was also penalized ten Serie A points last season after a hearing into the club’s previous transfer practices.
They were first penalized 15 points in January, but Italy’s top sporting court reversed that judgement in April and demanded that the matter be re-examined.
They would have finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League the following season if they had not been sanctioned.
In reaction to the accusation, Juventus stated that they respect UEFA’s decision and would not appeal.
“We regret the UEFA decision,” stated club president Gianluca Ferrero. We disagree with the interpretation of our defence that has been provided, and we remain strongly confident of the propriety of our acts and the correctness of our arguments.
“However, we have decided not to file an appeal against this judgement.”
“Lodging an appeal, possibly to higher levels of appeal, with uncertain outcomes and timing, would increase the uncertainty surrounding our eventual participation in the UEFA Champions League in 2024/25.”
While they continue to defend their case, Juventus’ decision not to appeal this sanction implies it should be the club’s ultimate blow for attempting to exploit financial regulations in order to hide large losses and allow them to acquire more players.
In addition to May’s 10-point punishment, FIGC penalized key officials, including former vice chair Pavel Nedved and sporting director Fabio Paratici, who later went to Tottenham.
UEFA has now had its say.
Since these flaws were revealed, Juventus has initiated massive managerial reform. They have also indicated their decision to exit the European Super League project, in which former chairman Andrea Agnelli had such faith.
It does mean that they will miss out on European football for the first time since 2011-12, but given that they won the championship instead that season, the first of nine in a row, they may take this as a good omen.
