Juventus raided amid claims of financial irregularities
Robin Bairner
- 27 Nov 2021 04:51 CST
- 3 min read
The offices of Serie A giants Juventus have been raided over allegations that the club has indulged in false accounting.
Italian authorities seized documents from the club’s offices on Friday, including evidence relating to transfers, invoices and financial statements.
The claims surround the club’s profit from transfers and agents fees dating from 2019.
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The Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office has released a statement on Friday, which reads: “Since this afternoon, on the orders of this Public Prosecutor's Office, soldiers of the Guardia di Finanza have been carrying out local searches at the Turin and Milan offices of Juventus Football Club Spa.
“The financiers of the Turin Economic-Financial Police Unit, delegated to the investigations, were instructed to find documentation and other useful elements relating to the company financial statements approved in the years from 2019 to 2021, with reference to both the purchase and sale of rights to the sports performance of the players, and the regular formation of financial statements.
“At present, the activities are aimed at ascertaining the crime of false communications from listed companies and issuing invoices for non-existent transactions, towards the top management and the managers of the business, financial and sports management areas.
“Under consideration there are various transfer operations of professional players and the services rendered by some agents involved in the relative intermediaries.”
Goal reports that six Juventus officials have been targeted by the investigation, including president Andrea Agnelli and vice president Pavel Nedved.
Gazzetta dello Sport, meanwhile, states that as many as 48 transfers are being investigated.
Juventus’ Super League ambition
Juventus have been feeling a financial strain over an extended period of time as they have battled to remain at the top of European football.
This has led to them becoming one of the driving forces of the breakaway European Super League, along with the similarly financially strapped Barcelona and Real Madrid, whose situation remains better than both their rivals.
Critics have suggested that this is a project merely suited to serving their own ends in the short term as the Premier League continues to gain in financial strength.
These latest investigations will cast a cloud over the credibility of Agnelli, Juventus and the Super League.
