Juventus have been hit with a 15-point deduction penalty in the wake of an investigation into the club’s past transfer dealings.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) confirmed the news on Friday, with ex-Juve director Fabio Paratici – who is now at Tottenham – given a two-and-a-half-year ban from Italian football.
Paratici’s ban includes a request for an extension to cover UEFA and FIFA activities, meaning potentially a big knock-on impact for Premier League side Spurs.
Former Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli has also been banned from holding office in Italian football for the next two years.
It has been widely reported the decision is likely to be appealed by Juve.
The Bianconeri had been third in Serie A, but have now dropped to 10th, 12 points off the Champions League places – as a result of the punishment.
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Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office had been seeking a nine-point deduction following a hearing earlier on Friday.
But the FIGC went with a harsher punishment after Juve were found to have used transfers to artificially boost their balance sheet.
The sanction comes on the back of chairman Agnelli, vice-president Pavel Nedved and the rest of the Bianconeri’s board resigning en-masse last year.
That came in the wake of an investigation being launched into financial violations during their time in charge.
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A separate ruling made last year acquitted Juventus and other clubs of their financial conduct within Serie A, with a case centred on player values in exchanges and transfers.
But football prosecutors reopened the case Juve after seeking new documents collected by public prosecutors in Turin surrounding the club’s conduct.
Juventus have denied any wrongdoing, while lawyers claimed prosecutors had not brought enough in to reach the adequate threshold for a new ruling.
The 36-time Italian champions are next in action on Sunday at home to Atalanta, in what was set to be a potentially crucial clash in the race for Champions League qualification.
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