Juventus intends to abandon Super League project

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Juventus expressed its intention to abandon the Super League project to which Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are still aspiring, despite the fact that on Tuesday the club denied that it had been threatened with a sanction by of UEFA.

The three aforementioned clubs await a ruling that could be made known within a few weeks by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg regarding the legal complaint against what they claim is a monopolized control of European competitions by UEFA. .

However, Juventus responded to reports that they were leaving the Super League for granted by saying they had contacted the two Spanish clubs to “start a discussion period” about their departure.

The three clubs held out after the other nine Italian, Spanish, and English clubs – who had joined them in April 2021 for the launch of the breakaway Super League – quit the project weeks after its swift failure.

UEFA was the clear winner when the Luxembourg Court issued a first non-binding opinion on the Super League case against the clubs last December.

A 10-point deduction in the Italian League was finally upheld in May due to an accounting falsification that caused Juventus to drop to seventh place, instead of qualifying for the next Champions League. Such classification would equate to about $10 million in revenue for the financially troubled club.

However, the two-time European champions qualified for the Europa Conference League at the risk of a sideline investigation by UEFA into allegations of accounting falsification.

Juve apparently violated UEFA’s financial fair play regulations, which could result in sanctions imposed by a panel appointed by the body itself. A verdict, potentially on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, is necessary ahead of the Europa Conference League qualifying playoff round in August.

Andrea Agnelli, who was Juventus’ longtime president, resigned in November as a result of the case. He was a member of UEFA’s executive committee, and also president of the influential European Club Association, important posts he made available in 2021 before helping launch the Super League.