ROME (AP) — Juventus will be fined 718,000 euros ($770,000) but will agree to no appeal as part of a plea deal with the Italian soccer federation on Tuesday, accusing the club and seven former team directors of fraud. How they handled the cut in players’ salaries during the coronavirus pandemic.
The only former team director who did not accept a plea deal was ex-Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, who will be sentenced on June 15.
Juventus and the former team directors have done nothing wrong.
At the start of the pandemic, Juventus said 23 players had agreed to cut their salaries for four months to help the club through the crisis. But lawyers say the players only gave up one month’s salary.
Juventus, who had already been deducted 10 points for miscalculation in a separate legal case, were at risk of further points being deducted.
The result leaves Juventus in seventh place and a chance to qualify for Europe entering the final game of the Serie A season at Udinese on Sunday. Juventus are one point behind sixth-placed Roma and two behind fifth-placed Atalanta.
However, it remains to be seen whether UEFA will ban Juventus from European competition next season for its various legal issues.
Prosecutors in Turin accused Juventus, Agnelli and 11 others of miscommunications, circumventing watchdog agencies, false billing and market manipulation by a publicly listed company on the Milan stock exchange.
Juventus were knocked out of the Europa League semi-finals by Sevilla this month, leaving the club without a trophy this season.
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