Uefa has booted Juventus out of this season’s Europa Conference League and fined them for breaking Financial Fair Play (FFP) criteria.
Chelsea was also penalised by European Football’s regulatory body for violating FFP guidelines by “submitting incomplete financial information.”
According to Uefa, the issue concerns transactions that occurred between 2012 and 2019.
Juventus was penalised £17.14 million, while Chelsea was fined £8.57 million.
The Italian club would only have to pay half of their sentence provided their financial records for the next three years are in order, whereas Chelsea has already agreed to pay the settlement amount.
The Blues have spent roughly £600 million on 19 new players since new owner Todd Boehly took over in May 2022, but their sanction is based on a seven-year period when Roman Abramovich was in charge.
According to Uefa, “Following the club’s sale in May 2022, the new ownership identified, and proactively reported to Uefa, instances of potentially incomplete financial reporting under the club’s previous ownership.”
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) must now notify Uefa of which team will take Juve’s spot in Europe’s third division. Fiorentina, who finished seventh in Serie A and was defeated by West Ham in last year’s final, is the most likely candidate.
The action against Juventus stems from a 718,000 euro (£620,000) punishment imposed as part of a settlement agreement reached with Italian football authorities regarding the payment of player salaries.
Juventus also penalised ten Serie A points last season after a hearing into the club’s previous transfer practices.
They were first penalised 15 points in January, but Italy’s top sporting court reversed that judgement in April and demanded that the matter be re-examined.
They would have finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League the following season if they had not been sanctioned.
In reaction to the accusation, Juventus stated that they respect Uefa’s decision and would not appeal.
“We regret the Uefa decision,” stated club president Gianluca Ferrero. We disagree with the interpretation of our defence that has been provided, and we remain strongly confident of the propriety of our acts and the correctness of our arguments.
“However, we have decided not to file an appeal against this judgement.”
“Lodging an appeal, possibly to higher levels of appeal, with uncertain outcomes and timing, would increase the uncertainty surrounding our eventual participation in the Uefa Champions League in 2024/25.”
