JUVENTUS VERDICT IS THE WORST FOR SERIE A

Juventus‘ 15-point penalty has temporarily been revoked, and Football Italia editor Lorenzo Bettoni argues that this is the worst possible scenario for Serie A.

Juventus’ partially won their appeal to CONI Collegio di Garanzia, which ruled on Thursday that FIGC must re-evaluate the case, coming back with a new verdict.

Reports in Italy claim the new ruling from FIGC will be issued by the end of the season, but this does not guarantee that it will happen, nor that the current Serie A campaign will end with certainties about the final table. On the contrary, the saga will likely continue before June 4, which is when the season ends in Serie A.

Juventus, in fact, can lodge a second appeal to CONI after the new FIGC ruling, not to mention that the Old Lady is waiting for another key verdict coming from another trial looking into the so-called salary manoeuvres which has been seen as the trickiest one for the Bianconeri.

The CONI verdict has partially relieved Max Allegri’s boys, who remain surrounded by uncertainties regardless, and the same is true for Serie A.

Juventus have immediately bounced back to third place, leapfrogging Roma and Milanese sides Inter and Milan, who are currently out of the top four, but how long will it last?

The latest CONI ruling is the worst possible scenario for Serie A, given that it’s unlikely that the definitive Serie A table will be determined at the end of the season in June.

On paper, it would have been better for Italian football if CONI had gone one way or the other, so confirming the 15-point penalty or vacating the original FIGC ruling. It didn’t happen, so we should be prepared to have a busy summer, starting in May when at least one of the two sporting trials involving the Bianconeri will occur.

This is reminiscent of the 2006 summer when the Old Lady were relegated to Serie B after the Calciopoli scandal. It also brought to point deductions for other clubs such as Fiorentina, Milan and Reggina. All clubs saw penalties reduced throughout the 2006-07 campaign, which was the turning point in the history of Italy’s top flight, bringing a drop of confidence from fans inside and outside the Peninsula.

The same uncertainty will chase Serie A fans and clubs through the summer, knowing that the results on the pitch won’t necessarily determine the table for 2022-23.