Italy’s national football federation penalized Juventus Football Club SpA, one of Europe’s most successful teams, by effectively pushing it down in the top league’s standings — a move that may cause the storied club to miss the next European Champions League tournament. The shares fell.
The appeals court of the organization, known as the FIGC, handed Juventus a 10-point rankings point reduction in the Serie A league for this season, citing in a statement the “capital gains case” against the club. In April, a court canceled an earlier ruling that would have docked the team 15 points.
Judges are looking into whether Juventus managers issued false communications to investors and faked invoices for transactions that never took place, and the club faces a seperate football ruling on other financial charges which could affect standings this year or in the following season.
The punishment means Juventus falls to seventh place in Serie A from its current second place. That could cost the team the opportunity to play in European tournaments like the lucrative Champions League. Serie A’s top four finishers gain automatic entry into the following year’s Champions League, an annual competition among Europe’s top teams.
Juventus shares fell as much as 3.4% in early Milan trading on Tuesday, giving the Agnelli family’s club a market value of €708 million ($764 million)
While the team was penalized, several Juventus managers, including Pavel Nedved, a former player and deputy chairman, were acquitted, the FIGC said.
Juventus, which is also facing a separate trial for false accounting related to player salaries, acknowledged the ruling in a Twitter post Monday and said it’s considering an appeal.
An initial trial in the case, following investigations into alleged false accounting and market manipulation, began in March.
Juventus has been owned since 1923 by the billionaire Agnelli family, which founded automaker Fiat nearly 125 years ago and manages most of its properties through its Exor NV holding company. The family also controls Ferrari NV, CNH Industrial NV and media publisher the Economist Group Ltd, and is the largest single investor in Stellantis NV.
(Update with shares from first paragraph.)