Juventus lawyers appear in court for false accounting trial
Hungarian former player and ambassador for the UEFA Europa League final in Budapest Zoltan Gera shows a ticket of soccer club Juventus during the draw for the UEFA soccer Europa League quarter-finals at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, Friday, March 17, 2023. Credit: AP/Martial Trezzini
TURIN, Italy — Juventus’ lawyers appeared before a judge Monday to face the first in a series of court dates following accusations of false accounting by the 36-time Italian champions.
The judge for a preliminary hearing in a Turin court postponed the procedure until May 10 for administrative reasons.
Juventus, former club president Andrea Agnelli and 11 others face charges of false communications by a company listed publicly on the Milan stock exchange, obstructing watchdog agencies, false billing and market manipulation.
“It’s completely normal in terms of procedure,” Juventus lawyer Maurizio Bellacosa said following the postponement, adding that the club will request that the trial be moved to Milan or Rome upon its resumption in May.
Juventus’ entire board of directors resigned in November after news emerged of the widespread investigation by Turin prosecutors.
The club was then hit with a 15-point penalty in Serie A in January after a sports trial in the case was re-opened based on information from the Turin prosecutors.
Juventus, which denies wrongdoing, has appealed the 15-point penalty to Italy’s highest sports court within the Italian Olympic Committee, known as CONI. An appeal hearing at CONI is slated for April 19.
If the point penalty is reduced, it could boost Juventus back into the Champions League places. The team is currently in seventh place but would be in second place if the entire penalty was scrapped.
UEFA has also requested documentation from the Turin prosecutors.
One of the Turin prosecutors, Ciro Santoriello, withdrew himself from the case after a video emerged of him professing to be a fan of Juventus rival Napoli and to “hate” Juventus.
