Italian football giants Juventus have been hit hard ahead of the 2023-24 season after being expelled from the Europa Conference League by the UEFA, European football's governing body. This comes after a formal probe into the club's alleged violations of Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations.
The investigation was conducted by UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) starting in December and found potential irregularities in Juventus' financial compliance.
In addition to the ban, UEFA has handed a 20 million euros financial penalty to Juventus. However, only half of this penalty — 10 million euros — will be imposed if the club fails to adhere to accounting standards in its financial statements for 2023, 2024, and 2025.
In the official statement, UEFA stated, "An additional financial contribution of 20 million euros is imposed on the club. 10 million euros out of this is conditional and will be enforced if Juventus' annual financial statements for 2023, 2024, and 2025 fail to meet accounting requirements."
Interestingly, Juventus has chosen not to dispute UEFA's decision, despite asserting their innocence from the beginning. New Chairman of the Old Lady Gianluca Ferrero said that while they disagree with the judgement, they aim to end the uncertainty surrounding their participation in global tournaments. This mirrors their prior settlement with Italy's football federation, where they accepted a fine and a point deduction without filing an appeal.
"While we don't agree with the given interpretation of our defence, we firmly believe in our actions and the validity of our points. However, we've opted not to contest this ruling. We wish to put an end to the uncertainty and provide clarity to our stakeholders about our future participation in international tournaments. Pursuing an appeal, which might lead to uncertain results and timeline, would only increase the unpredictability of our possible involvement in the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League," the club's Chairman said.
This ban comes as a major blow to Juventus given their historical standing in Serie A. In the 2023-24 season, they finished seventh and qualified for the playoff round of the Europa Conference League.
However, Juventus is not the only club facing UEFA's sanctions. English Premier League side Chelsea have also been fined 10 million euros for submitting incomplete financial data regarding transactions that took place from 2012 to 2019.
These irregularities were found after the acquisition of Chelsea by the Boehly-Clearlake consortium in 2022. The new ownership voluntarily reported these issues to UEFA. Given Chelsea's 12th-place finish in the Premier League, the team won't be participating in Europe in the 2023-24 season.
"After the sale in May 2022, the new ownership discovered and reported potential instances of incomplete financial reporting under the previous ownership. After assessing the matter, including the applicable statute of limitations, the CFCB First Chamber entered into a settlement agreement with the club. Chelsea has agreed to pay a 10 million euros contribution to completely resolve the reported matters," said UEFA.
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