On Jan. 20, one of Italy’s most successful football clubs, Juventus, got into another scandal revolving around their transfer deals.

The Italian Federal Football Federation (FIGC) has accused the club of financial fraud, which took a big toll on the team. However, this isn’t the first time, or even the second, that the Serie A giants have been in a financial scandal. They’ve been in financial scandals in 2006 and 2021. 

This time around, they’ve been deducted 15 points, sending them from third place to thirteenth place. Juventus has been accused of rigging their transfer finances, supposedly inflating their player values to further profit from selling players to other clubs. 

These accusations may explain some of the questionable player transfers that Juventus have made recently, such as when Man City signed Joao Cancelo for $72 million in exchange for Danilo, who cost Juventus $42 million back in 2019.

Bans have been handed out to multiple Juventus executives, which span from nine months to two years. One of the executives is Federico Cherubini, who helps lead Juventus’ transfer market operations.

Juventus has announced that they will launch an appeal against the FIGC’s accusations of financial fraud. 

With the team’s underachieving year, this scandal worsened their chances of salvaging the season.

“Besides the immediate repercussions of dropping from the Champion’s League qualifier spot (tied with third) into the bottom of the mid-table, it affects the mentality and morale of the players and coaching staff. It affects the club’s finances: With European competition and the prize money it brings unlikely, budgets need to be adjusted accordingly.” Niles North soccer coach Ivan Milicevic said, “We’re seeing signs of that already with a departure of McKinney to Leeds and other top teams circling around the best Juventus players looking to poach them. Finally, the reputation of “The Old Lady” takes another hit having just recovered from the Calciopoli scandal and the relegation.”

 The 15-point deduction has finely thinned the team’s chances of getting top four in the Italian league Serie A. In order to secure a spot in the Champions League, a club must finish in the top four teams at the end of the season. Failing to qualify for the Champions League will further ruin the club in terms of economics. 

On top of this scandal, if Juventus does not secure a spot in the Champions League, they may have to say goodbye to their most talented players, as they may want to leave due to the club’s controversy growing. The top players in Europe usually want to participate in the Champions League, which is considered to be the biggest competition a team can participate in. 

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) can start a public investigation into the club’s salary payments during the COVID pandemic, which was their financial controversy in 2021. This could ultimately lead the club to be banned from participating in the Champions League, Conference League, and Europa League, regardless of their Serie A ranking.

As the situation further develops within the next months, and the investigations continue, Juventus could be in deep trouble.