MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2022) Italian authorities accused Turin's Juventus football club of hiding 200 million Euros ($197 million) in losses over a three-year period, The New York Times journalist Tariq Panja said on Tuesday.
Juventus used false credentials and manipulated loan deals in order to hide the club's losses, which amounted to 542 million euros instead of 339 million, as indicated in official documents, Panja tweeted, citing data from Italy's prosecutors.
Juventus lawyers have 20 days to respond to the allegations.
Last year, The New York Times reported that Italian authorities were probing into at least 42 Juventus deals that may have broken financial rules, mainly related to the transfers of little-known footballers from the reserve or youth teams, but also including some high-profile trades with two of Europe's biggest football clubs, Barcelona and Manchester City.
Juventus is one of the oldest and most titled football clubs in the world, having won a record-breaking 36 Serie A trophies, as well as the UEFA Champions League twice.
In 2006, the football club was involved in the so-called Calciopoli football scandal, after which it was dropped out of Serie B. A number of clubs, including Juventus, were accused of rigging games by selecting profitable referees. The club finished the Serie B season in first place and were thus promoted to Serie A.
