A report from Italian newspaper Tuttosport suggests that Juventus may avoid a severe punishment for their financial practices for three key reasons. The article outlines how judge Ludovico Morello could reject the various requests made by the Turin Public Prosecutors office who have led the investigations into Juve’s ‘financial maneuvers’ that relate to the payment of player salaries and inflated transfer valuations.
In the first issue relating to the falsified capital gains, Morello pointed out that capital gains are a widespread practice in football, the implication being that there was no criminal intent on the part of Juventus.
The second issue relates to Juve’s management team having a clean record and no history of wrongdoing, making them understandably sensitive regarding the ongoing investigations.
The third and final issue related to the Covid pandemic in 2020 which had led to a standstill of football around the world. Morello suggested that Juventus would not have acted in this way had the pandemic not threatened their financial security as well as all of the football clubs in Italy. The supposed ‘hidden’ salary payments made to players wouldn’t have occurred, had it not been for the pandemic.
