Juve’s Agnelli to appeal one-year ban
Juventus will appeal against a ruling that handed a one-year ban and a 300,000 fine to club president Andrea Agnelli for his role in selling match tickets to “ultra” supporters who were allegedly connected to organised crime.
The ruling was handed down by the Italian
federation’s Disciplinary Court, which had prepared a case against Agnelli and three other club officials on the basis of evidence gathered by Turin-based public prosecutors investigating mafia infiltration in the Piedmont region.
Juventus said that it would appeal the ruling “in the firm belief that the club is in the right”. Agnelli denies any wrongdoing, arguing that the fans with whom he had met were not involved in criminal activity and there had been nothing clandestine about his meeting with them.
The ruling came less than a month after Agnelli was appointed chairman of the European Club Association (ECA), succeeding Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. It remains unclear how, if at all, Agnelli’s role at the ECA will be affected by his suspension, which essentially applies to Juventus-related duties.