La Liga Calls for Sanctions on Juventus

Spain’s premier soccer league has taken exception to an iconic Italian club. 

La Liga has called for sanctions on Juventus FC after a shakeup of the Serie A club’s board following heavy financial losses and alleged financial improprieties. The call is a byproduct of the league’s campaign for stricter regulation throughout European soccer. 

On Monday, the entire board of Juve — including president Andrea Agnelli — resigned amid an investigation for allegedly taking illegal commissions from player transfers and loans, as well as false accounting practices regarding those transactions. 

• La Liga plans to ask UEFA and Serie A to impose sanctions on Juventus.
• Sanctions could include point deductions or financial constraints, per Bloomberg.
• Shares in the team fell 6% in early trading Tuesday in Milan before recovering. 

Earlier this year, La Liga submitted a complaint regarding Juventus — the ninth-most-valuable club in the world at $2.45 billion, per Forbes — but the league has also targeted other big European teams including Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain for what it believes are violations of FIFA’s Financial Fair Play rules due to irregularities regarding revenues and costs.

Heavy Losses 

Juventus reported a $246.1 million loss for the 2021-22 season — the largest financial deficit in Serie A history and the club’s fifth consecutive annual deficit. The club attributed the loss to the pandemic and reduced media revenue due to an early exit from the UEFA Champions League.

Over the past three years, Juventus has reported a combined loss of $517.45 million.