DELIGHTFUL DEFEAT FOR AGNELLI

ATALANTA are the club Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli thinks do not deserve to be in the Champions League. Too new, too small, not enough history. He felt places should be reserved for the traditional elite. He cited Roma, presumably because he thought Juventus would never be in need of charity. Delightfully, at the weekend, Juventus lost 1-0 at home to Atalanta, who are four points behind second-placed AC Milan. Juventus are seventh and seven points adrift of the Champions League spots. Also, they face allegations of artificially inflating the valuations of players, to improve their financial status in the accounts. Agnelli (below), and five other directors, are being investigated over false accounting, false company reporting and billing for non-existent transactions. Italy’s stock market regulator and the Italian federation are following the investigation by Turin-based prosecutors. Interesting to see how Agnelli’s take on Financial Fair Play pans out. Meanwhile, we can only wish him well in his pursuit of Atalanta’s richly deserved fourth place.