A double slap that hurts, very badly, to Juventus. The first comes with the verdict of the federal court of appeal that accepts the indications of the “Collegio di Garanzia” at the Coni, exonerating the executives without signing authority and reducing the penalty in the standings from -15 to -10, but still makes Juve slip from second to seventh place. To the great bitterness of the club, which considers the sentence exaggerated and unjust and awaits the motivations to understand whether or not to make a new appeal.
The second slap comes instead from the field, because the team collapsed in Empoli jeopardising the comeback to the Champions zone, pending the judgement on the second strand of the investigation on salaries and then that of UEFA. The news of the penalty could have given a push to win (with three victories in the championship Juve would have been mathematically fourth), instead it weighed down the legs of the team that gave one of the worst performances of this championship that has always seen it shine little. To concede four goals in Empoli is truly humiliating and should make the club and Allegri reflect.
A very black day then in the increasingly anomalous Juventus season. The games on and off the pitch inevitably intertwine. And the Bianconeri’s fates in turn condition those of other teams. The standings are once again overturned with two days to go, with Lazio mathematically in the Champions League since yesterday, Milan fourth, Atalanta and Roma in the Europa League. The chances of reaching fourth place are reduced to a minimum, but the new Serie A betting odds give confidence to the Bianconeri, who place behind Napoli and Inter for next season.
And it doesn’t end here, because however the championship ends and even without a new appeal, the classification will remain sub judice until 15 June when there will be the other judgement. The only certainty today is that with the tournament largely over, there will be teams that will not know what their final position is, whether they will play a cup and which one. Many claim that the regularity of the championship has been compromised – most recently yesterday Mourinho – certainly the credibility of our system is wounded, precisely in the year in which we surprisingly place three finalists in the European Cups. That the ‘Juve affaire’ was extremely complex, with several strands of investigation, was known: it is no coincidence that we have already reached the fifth degree of judgement.