Juventus Docked 15 Points and What it Means for Serie A

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On Friday the 20th of January, an announcement was made regarding Juventus by the Italian football federation.

The FIGC released a statement docking Juventus 15 points for fixing their balance sheets by artificial gains from club transfers. Prosecutors had advised a 9 point deduction but the FIGC went in harder on Juventus and docked them 15 points.

This news came as a bit of shock as Juventus were partially cleared of any wrong doing in April 2022, along with 10 other clubs, including current Serie A leaders, Napoli.

However, the federal prosecutor decided to appeal the decision in December and the investigation was reopened using new evidence that included Sampdoria and Empoli plus several individuals.

Two of those individuals, Juventus’ former sports director Fabio Paratici and former president Andrea Agnelli have been temporarily banned from football. Paratici is now the managing director of football at Tottenham Hotspur, so it will be interesting to see what happens at Spurs.

In December 2022, it was announced UEFA were opening an investigation into Juventus for potential breaches of its club licensing and financial fair play regulations.

So, there could be worse to come for the Italian giants but they plan to appeal the 15 point deduction and get it overturned.

It is not the first time Juventus have been in trouble with the authorities and in May 2006, Juventus were relegated to Serie B for the first time in their history following the Calciopoli scandal. They were also stripped of two Serie A titles so this is nothing new for The Old Lady.

In terms of the 2022/23 Serie A season, Juventus have dropped from 3rd in the table to 10th place following the 15 point deduction. That leaves them on 22 points with 20 league fixtures remaining this season.

Juventus are now 25 points behind leaders Napoli and 12 points behind 4th place Lazio, which is the final Champions League qualifying position.

That means Juventus face a monumental task to qualify for the Champions League next season and even Europa and Conference League football seems out of reach. That will come as a huge blow to both the club and the fans.

However, for those chasing the top four in Serie A this season, they have all been given a boost. Lazio, Atalanta, and Roma all now have a fantastic opportunity to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League next season.

Having played 18 matches each, Lazio, Atalanta, and Roma are all on 34 points and will be competing to secure their place in Europe’s top club competition.

As for Juventus, it will be interesting to see how this effects the players. Will they see this punishment as the end of their season in Serie A and down tools?

There is still the Coppa Italia and Europa League to play but the mood in the camp is sure to be low following the 15 point deduction. Some players chose to leave the club when Juventus were relegated to Serie B, including Lilian Thuram, Zlatan Ibrahimović, and Fabio Cannavaro.

The 15 point deduction is not as severe as relegation but it will be interesting to see the response of the players and how Juventus perform for the remainder of the campaign.