July 11 – Former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, who once ran Europe’s most influential grouping of elite clubs, has received a second lengthy ban in less than a year on Monday, this time for 16 months for the way he handled player salary cuts during the coronavirus pandemic.
Agnelli, one of the principle architects of the doomed European Super League project and a former boss of the prestigious European Clubs Association, had already been banned for two years in January following an investigation into the club’s transfer dealings.
Agnelli was fined €60,000 by the Italian FA on Monday after being judged responsible for wrongdoing in relationships with player agents and partnerships with other clubs.
Agnelli and Juventus have denied any wrongdoing. He and the entire Juventus board resigned last November following the investigation by Turin prosecutors into false accounting.
Juventus and seven other former Juventus directors agreed to a plea bargain agreement with the federation in May over the salary case, while Agnelli was the only figure in the case who decided to be judged.
At the start of the pandemic, Juventus said 23 players agreed to reduce their salary for four months to help the club through the crisis. But prosecutors claim the players gave up only one month’s salary.
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