Juventus hit with 15-point penalty for false accounting

Juventus, the record 36-time Italian champion, were hit with a massive 15-point penalty for false accounting on Friday (Jan.20).

The sanction following an appeal hearing at the Italian soccer federation.

The decision means the Turin giants will plunge from third to 11th place in the Serie A table, although they have indicated that they will launch an appeal.

The punishment could eliminate the club’s chances of playing in Europe next season. A record 36-time Italian champion, Juventus was third in Serie A and the penalty drops the Bianconeri to a midtable position — 25 points behind leader Napoli and 12 points from the Champions League places.

A total of 11 current and former Juventus officials have been slapped with sanctions including ex-chairman Andrea Agnelli, who has been banned from the sport for two years, and thecurrent director of football at English club Tottenham, Fabio Paratici, who has been handed a two-and-a-half-year suspension.

Prosecutors had previously recommended a nine-point deduction over the scandal, in which the club were alleged to have falsely inflated the value of players and misrepresented losses.

The penalty comes 17 years after a refereeing scandal that saw Juventus demoted to Serie B and stripped of two Serie A titles.

Juventus hosts Atalanta in the league on Sunday (Jan.22).