Business
Juventus’ entire board of directors resign amid financial scandal
Juventus’ entire board of directors have shockingly resigned from their positions, including president Andrea Agnelli and vice president Pavel Nedved.
A unanimous decision has been made by the board of directors at the Italian giants to resign en masse, leaving them in a state of flux amid the mid-season World Cup break.
Managing director Maurizio Arrivabene is set to remain in charge of his administrative duties despite also resigning, with the club set to fall into a significant period of transition.
The 2021-22 season saw a year of record-breaking losses published by the Turin club, with a £220million (€254.3m) loss registered.
The decision for a mass exodus from the board was made on the proposal of president Agnelli, after the board agreed that it was in the best interest of the club for a new group of executives to take over at Juventus.
Agnelli wrote a letter to all Juventus employees in which he heralded ‘extraordinary results’ including the building of their Allianz stadium, as well as nine consecutive league titles for the men’s team and five in a row for the women’s side.
He also talked about the Champions League final appearances in Berlin and Cardiff and then observes: ‘We are facing a delicate moment in society. Better to leave everyone together, giving the possibility to a new team to overturn the game’.
His letter, sent to all employees before resigning, continued: ‘When the team is not compact it lends itself to the opponents and this can be fatal.
‘At that moment we need to have clarity and contain the damage. I will continue to imagine and work for a better football club, comforted by a phrase by Friedrich Nietzsche: “And those who saw themselves dancing were considered crazy by those who did not hear the music”.
‘Remember everyone, we will recognise each other everywhere with a look: we are the people of Juve!’
Details of the letter were released by Ansa and La Repubblica.
According to various Italian media outlets, the unanimous decision comes as a result of involvement in the Prisma investigation, opened by the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office.
A statement published on the club’s official website said that the board received ‘new legal and accounting opinions’ from independent experts in charge of assessing the ‘critical issues’.
Agnelli’s period of unprecedented dominance at the Allianz Stadium – including a nine-year run of Serie A titles – has now come to an end as a result.
The full board of directors also includes Laurence Debroux, Massimo Della Ragione, Katryn Fink, Daniela Marilungo, Francesco Roncaglio, Giorgio Tacchia and Suzanne Keywood, as well as Agenlli, Nedved and Arrivabene.
Juventus now find themselves in a state of flux as pressure escalates off the pitch with regards to allegations, which they have previously denied.
On Tuesday, October 25 the club denied any wrongdoing after allegations of false accounting and market manipulation followed an investigation into the club’s financial statements.
The board had been informed that the investigation had finished, which usually precedes any request to take suspects to trial in Italy, and a source close to matters claimed that there were 15 suspects in the investigation, including Agnelli.
The club issued a statement, saying: ‘Juventus remains convinced… to have acted in compliance with the laws and regulations governing the preparation of financial reports, in accordance with accounting principles and in line with the international practice in the football industry.’
The Turin prosecutor had alleged that the club misrepresented financial losses in the period 2018-20, with prosecutors investigating the amount ascribed to player sales.
The club is controlled by Exor, which is the holding company for the Agnelli family, with the former club president being one of the key driving forces behind the failed European Super League as the vice-chairman of the competition.
Andrea Agnelli with former manager Antonio Conte (right) after winning the 2012-13 title
The club confirmed that a shareholders’ meeting set to take place on November 23 had been moved to December 27 in a statement.
It read: ‘Today, Juventus Football Club S.p.A. published pro-forma financial information to comply with Consob’s Resolution dated 19 October 2022 adopted pursuant to art. 154-ter, comma 7, of Legislative Decree No. 58/1998 (‘TUF’).
‘In order to ensure maximum transparency and adequate time for the shareholders to examine the aforementioned information, the Board of Directors of the Company, which met today, resolved to postpone the Shareholders’ Meeting, previously scheduled for 23 November 2022, to 27 December 2022.’
But despite overseeing a period of dominance for the Italian giants, and spending lavishly in the transfer market of late, Juventus have lost their footing at the pinnacle of Italian football.
Their nine-year run of success was first interrupted by Inter, who were steered to the title in 2021 under the guidance of ex-Juventus boss Antonio Conte.
And they were then denied the chance to secure 10 Scudetto titles in 11 years by AC Milan last season, with Napoli seemingly unstoppable this term in Serie A as Juve’s bid for a first title in three years begins to look unlikely.
