Juventus to pay $790,000 fine, no further points deducted

MILAN : Juventus will pay a fine of 718,000 euros ($790,000)and not challenge a 10-point penalty in a settlement reached on Tuesday with Italy's soccer authorities over payments to players and the club's accounts.

With the settlement, Italy's most successful club aims to clear the slate with the game's regulators before the end of the current Serie A season and provide clarity for their future, which has been clouded by financial scandals.

There will be no further points deducted for this season, after the team were docked 10 points last month in a separate soccer case regarding the club's player transfers.

Shares in Juventus rose as much as 9.9 per cent on the Milan Stock Exchange after the settlement was announced and were up 5.1 per cent by 1350 GMT. The Agnelli family is the majority owner of the club through their investment company EXOR.

Under the terms of the agreement, which also covers allegations of undue relationships with players' agents and other clubs, Juventus will pay the fine and drop any appeals in other cases, Italy's soccer federation FIGC said.

Juventus said that, while reiterating the correctness of their actions and the soundness of their arguments, they had decided to accept the settlement "in the best interest" of the club itself, their shareholders and stakeholders.

"The settlement of all open FIGC sports proceedings allows the company to achieve a definite result," Juventus said in a statement, adding this would remove "tension and instability" and allow the club to focus on planning for next season.

With one match left to play, the agreement leaves Juventus seventh in the Serie A table, allowing them to qualify for next season's Europa Conference League and still potentially aspiring for a spot in