Prosecutors seek trial for Juventus and former chairman Agnelli

MILAN, Italy: Prosecutors in Italy have requested that former Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli, 11 other people and the club itself stand trial over allegations of false accounting at the country's most successful soccer team, a senior source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday (Dec 1).

Prosecutors in the northern Italian city of Turin, where Juventus are based, have been investigating the club's accounting and statements made to financial markets over the past three years.

Agnelli stepped down as chairman earlier this week, resigning along with the rest of the board.

Juventus had no comment on the Reuters report on Thursday. They have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and the club said on Wednesday that it would defend its interests with all sporting and legal bodies.

Under Italian law, a request for trial is notified to suspects only once a court hearing has been scheduled. At the end of the actual hearing, a judge must decide whether to send the defendants to trial or acquit them.

Turin prosecutors allege the club understated its financial losses for three seasons - 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21.

They have been looking into the values ascribed to player transfers between clubs and whether, as stated, salaries were sacrificed during the COVID-19 pandemic or simply deferred.

The club is controlled by the Agnelli family's Exor holding group and Juventus shares also trade on the Milan Stock Exchange.

Exor said on Thursday it had no comment on Juventus.

Turin prosecutors said in October that they had concluded their investigation into the club's accounts, a step that precedes a request for defendants to stand trial.

Among those who could face trial with Agnelli is former vice-chairman Pavel Nedved, who played for the