Juventus are facing the axe from the Champions League after LaLiga called for several actions to be taken against the Italian giants following allegations of Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches.
The Old Lady were found guilty of breaching FFP rules back in September alongside a number of other UEFA clubs, but Juventus received one of the biggest fines. Their original sanction was a large sum worth £19.8million. However, thanks to a settlement, it was reduced to £3m, which will be deducted from the club's European earnings.
But LaLiga have filed a complaint to UEFA and want the organisation to look into Juventus' spending, with the threat of kicking them out of next season's Champions League. The Old Lady have failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the 2022/23 competition, with Massimiliano Allegri's side finishing third in their group.
It means Juventus will play a two-legged Europa League tie against Nantes in February to see who will go through to the last-16 of the tournament. In the meantime, LaLiga want Juventus to be punished for their mass spending, with Dusan Vlahovic, Bremer and Federico Chiesa amongst their big-money arrivals in recent years.
In a lengthy statement, LaLiga called for "immediate action" to be taken against Juventus having already filed a complaint against the club back in April after the Guardia di Finanza in Italy opened an investigation. That could include financial and sporting sanctions being issued should they be found to have committed the alleged offences, with the possibility of a ban from European competition.
UEFA regulations state that clubs can be warned or sanctioned, which includes fines, relegation to a lower level of European competition or even face complete exclusion from their competition. Although they failed to qualify for the last-16 of the Champions League, Juventus could be dumped out of the Europa League, too.
The statement by LaLiga read: "Following the resignation of the Juventus board of directors late Monday November 28, LaLiga demands immediate sports sanctions to be applied on the club.
"LaLiga field an official compliant against Juventus with UEFA in April 2022 reporting financial fair play breaches being investigated by Italy’s Guardia di Finanza, an enforcement agency under the authority of the country’s Minister of Economy and Finance, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Turin.
"Specifically, the complaint charges that Juventus accounted for transfers above fair value and under accounted for employee expenses, resulting in a breach of UEFA break even requirements. Additionally, the complaint charges that Juventus concealed the true wage bill of its players."
This follows what has been a turbulent start to the week for Juventus after the resignation of several board members including key figures such as president Andre Agnelli, Pavel Nedved and Federico Cherubina on Monday. CEO Maurizio Arrivabene has assumed temporary charge while replacements are found, but the club has been left in disarray as allegations of financial wrongdoing refuse to go away.
