MILAN (Reuters) – Shares in Juventus tumbled around 10% on Monday after Italian soccer authorities docked the club 15 points for its transfer dealings, dealing a blow to its short-term sporting prospects and its reputation.
Juventus, who have won the Italian league more times than any other club, are now 9th in the Serie A standings and facing an uphill struggle to qualify for lucrative European competition.
The club said it would await the reasons for the decision made late on Friday but that it planned to appeal against the penalty to a higher sporting court at the Italian Olympic Committee.
“We believe we’re in a strong position and we’ll continue down this path,” new Juventus CEO Maurizio Scanavino said in a statement on Sunday evening, adding that fans of other clubs were also opposed to the decision.
Juventus, controlled by the Agnelli family’s Exor holding, have been facing investigation from sporting and legal authorities for their accounting.
(Reporting by Keith Weir, editing Federico Maccioni and Toby Chopra)
