Juventus face new UEFA probe

European governing body will look into whether Italian club misled it over finances

ROME:

UEFA on Thursday said it was starting its own investigation into the finances of Serie A club Juventus.

Earlier in the day, Italian media reported that Italian prosecutors have requested that ex-chairman Andrea Agnelli, and 12 other defendants stand trial on charges of false accounting and other crimes.

UEFA, the governing body of European football, then released a statement saying that the investigative chamber of its Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) had opened a formal investigation into whether Juventus had misled them and broken rules.

It is the second time this year UEFA has launched an investigation into Juventus.

Its brief statement Thursday said it would be looking into whether the Turin club had provided misleading information to get the first case resolved with a "settlement agreement" in August.

Agnelli, vice-president Pavel Nedved and the rest of the board of the Serie A club resigned on Monday after investigations by the Italian authorities into accounting irregularities.

UEFA said its own "investigation will focus on the alleged financial violations that were recently made public as a result of the proceedings led by the Italian Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) and the public prosecutor in Turin."

Juventus were among a group of clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan, who in August reached an agreement to pay a fine following an investigation into breaches of UEFA's Financial Fair Play.

The CFCB had found the clubs failed to comply with the "break-even requirement" in the financial years from 2018 to 2022. Juventus agreed to pay 3.5 million euros.

Announcing the new investigation, UEFA said that if it found that "the club's financial situation was significantly different from that...at the time the settlement agreement was concluded, or if new and substantial facts arise," the CFCB "reserves the right to terminate the settlement agreement, take any legal step it may deem appropriate, and impose disciplinary measures."

Agnelli was one of the architects of the proposed Super League that would have competed with UEFA's Champions League.

After most declared members dropped out in the face of a public backlash, Juventus was one of three holdouts, along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, that argued the competition was financially necessary.