EXOR President John Elkann weighed on the legal issues affecting Juventus at present: ‘The club deny any wrongdoing’. The Bianconeri have found themselves embroiled in a series of legal battles involving alleged inflated capital gains and the under the table payment of player salaries during the Covid pandemic.
Juve have already appealed the decision to dock them 15-points this season for the alleged plusvalenza deals, but will also have to contend with the Prisma investigation which is looking at the payment of player salaries in 2021.
Addressing shareholders (as quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport), Elkann touched on the legal issues impacting Juventus ate present and the changes they have bought about:
“To a greater extent than many of our clubs, Juventus faced increasing internal and external difficulties in 2022, which put the club under strain. It was the legal actions against the club that ended up occupying the company’s Board of Directors, which met 18 times during the year. The level of pressure has grown so great that the board of directors has decided to resign in order to enable the club to protect itself in the most effective way against allegations ranging from alleged accounting irregularities to inaccurate communications to the financial markets relating mainly to the buying and selling of players and agreements on players’ salaries. Juventus denies any wrongdoing.”
“Continental European football cannot keep up with the growing financial power of the Premier League, whose revenues are expected to exceed those of Serie A by three times by the end of the current season. Football is still in transition to a fully professional industry: it still lacks clarity as a whole, and this is creating financial and regulatory tensions.”
“I would like to thank the Juventus Board of Directors for acting responsibly and in particular President Andrea Agnelli, who has led Juventus through a phase full of changes and victories. The club has collected extraordinary successes, winning everything in Italy and internationally, and has counted among its players as many as 27 world champions, more than any other club in history. However, this level of sporting success, which brings great joy to our fans, also creates considerable animosity, which can arise when the club faces challenges.”
“Juventus now has a new president, Gianluca Ferrero, and a new CEO, Maurizio Scanavino, who is also leading our media company Gedi, where he is successfully carrying out a relaunch plan. At Juventus, Gianluca and Maurizio will be helped by a new Board of Directors, and they have made a good start, ensuring that Juventus can meet the many current challenges while protecting its reputation so that it can come back stronger both on and off the field.”
