Juventus' 15 Points Deduction

Juventus was handed a 15 points deduction by an Italian soccer court on Friday. I read about a possible 9-point deduction a prosecutor had requested before I slept that day. I woke up to the news that they have been deducted 15 points but I felt indifferent about it. I am not a Juventus fan, far from it. They are my arch-nemesis but then again in Serie A, you either support Juventus or hate them. There is no in-between when it comes to Juventus. 

Juventus fans feel that rival fans and the Italian football authorities are jealous of their success thus this sentiment of love or hate and no in-between. If you speak to Juventus fans about this episode or Calciopoli in 2006, they will paint themselves as the victims and point out why others aren't punished as severely as them. The world of Serie A is full of conspiracy theories. Many times when favourable decisions have gone in favour of Juventus, their rivals have said that the referees have either been bought by Juventus or favour Juventus. Eventually, that suspicion came true in 2006 but Juventus, as a whole, will claim their innocence despite the presence of proof against them. In this case, in April 2022, Juventus was cleared of any wrongdoing of inflating player valuations to balance the club's books. In December 2022, the investigation was re-opened after a separate group of Turin-based prosecutors and Italian market regulator, Consob looked through their financial statements. 

As much as Juventus fans want to paint themselves as victims, I feel there is no smoke without fire. Some might argue that if they have been punished, other clubs should be punished too. The reasons for the punishment have not been made public yet and Juventus plan to appeal against the sentence when the reasons are made known. As a rival fan, I am not celebrating or elated at the punishment they have received. The points deduction means that Juventus plummeted from 3rd to 9th in the standings but I don't feel it would affect the team in any way on the pitch. On the contrary, I feel they would be revitalised and be even more determined to do well. There is now an us against the world feeling in the team. It suits Juventus perfectly because they are known to be dogged, determined and gritty on the pitch. There is nothing pretty in the way they play so this works perfectly for them. 

I feel if the misdemeanour has to do with transfer dealings, they should face a transfer ban on top of the point deduction. There are three avenues available for Juventus to qualify for Europe next season - through their league standings, by winning the Coppa Italia or by winning the Europa League. In the case of the latter, they would qualify for the Champions League. Not qualifying for Europe or the Champions League, could mean some players would leave at the end of the season. They could still have their point deduction reduced or removed completely because the punishment handed out is not set in stone yet. We don't know yet if this punishment is extended to FIFA and UEFA so at the moment, the damage is only for this season and consigned to Serie A only. Juventus will write off this season as an anomaly. They might face some difficulties in signing players if they don't have European football to offer but it might work in their favour because they have a talented bunch of kids coming through. It is ironic for a club that has shown little faith in youth for so long might need to rely on youth to revitalise them. 

This story is not over yet and I am sure there would be further twists and turns but no matter what, I will never write off Juventus or regale in their misery because my primary concern is on my club and secondarily, I would like to beat them on the pitch.