La Liga as an organising body have been quick to defend their interests and attack what they see as financial imbalances in recent years, and they have not missed the opportunity to do so again as Juventus find themselves mired in scandal for the second time in two decades.
Juventus are currently being investigated for financial irregularities by the Italian police, after it was alleged that they overvalued transfer fees and did not declare payments made to players during the pandemic. It is not yet clear what punishments La Vecchia Signora will face as a result, on or off the pitch. Famously they were relegated in 2006 for the Calciopoli scandal after they paid in order to have favourable referees.
On Monday, the entire Juventus board and CEO Andrea Agnelli resigned from their positions, accepting the premise of these financial irregularities.
Regardless of what happens with the Italian justice system La Liga have demanded that they be punished by UEFA. Juventus supposedly agreed to wage cuts with their players during the pandemic, but it has transpired that they were paying the players off the books.
La Liga have previously made complaints to UEFA about Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain for breaches of financial fairplay, complaints that have so far gone unanswered in terms of punishment.
It is not lost that Juventus are also the third remaining partner of the Superleague, a project which Agnelli has been a strong advocate of, with Real Madrid and Barcelona. It seems unlikely that there will be a change of course on the matter, but it may yet have consequences.
Full statement below:
Following the resignation of the Juventus board of directors late Monday Nov. 28, LaLiga demands immediate sports sanctions to be applied on the club.
LaLiga filed an official complaint against Juventus with UEFA in April 2022 reporting financial fair play breaches being investigated by Italy´s Guardia di Finanza, an enforcement agency under the authority of the country´s Minister of Economy and Finance, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Turin.
Specifically, the complaint charges that Juventus accounted for transfers above fair value and under accounted for employee expenses, resulting in a breach of UEFA break even requirements. Additionally, the complaint charges that Juventus concealed the true wage bill of its players.
This Monday, in the same statement announcing the resignation of its Board of Directors, Juventus acknowledges financial accounting irregularities, which are also aimed at misleading UEFA financial fair play authorities, among others.
As part of its campaign to promote financially sustainable football in Europe, LaLiga continues to pursue these complaints against Juventus and demands immediate sporting sanctions to be applied on the club by the relevant authorities.
LaLiga has long been a major proponent for the implementation, application, and enforcement of strong financial sustainability rules in football. In April of this year, LaLiga laid out complaints on financial fair play breaches filed with UEFA against Juventus, but also Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain.
The Spanish competition itself has applied its “economic control” rules for nearly a decade, at the request of the clubs that make up the league. Financial sustainability is paramount to protecting the business of football.
Protect our football.
