Juventus President Andrea Agnelli testified he did not know about Luis Suarez taking an Italian citizenship test, but this reportedly is not what other members of the club told investigators.
The investigation continues into the language and citizenship test that Suarez took in Perugia last summer, a necessary step towards gaining an Italian passport and taking a spot in squads reserved for EU players.
The Uruguay international did take the exam, but it was later revealed he knew the questions in advance and had been coached.
Juventus President Andrea Agnelli testified he did not know about Luis Suarez taking an Italian citizenship test, but this reportedly is not what other members of the club told investigators.
The investigation continues into the language and citizenship test that Suarez took in Perugia last summer, a necessary step towards gaining an Italian passport and taking a spot in squads reserved for EU players.
The Uruguay international did take the exam, but it was later revealed he knew the questions in advance and had been coached.
La Repubblica published excerpts from Agnelli’s testimony, in which he said that director Fabio Paratici was “in charge” of the Suarez negotiations.
“I do not deal with the contractual conditions as the negotiations are followed by the sports area within the limits of the budget.
“I don’t remember if I was informed about the exam. I knew about it from papers and I remember I called the player once to thank him for being so out in the open.”
However, according to the Corriere della Sera, this doesn’t entirely fit with the version of events given to investigators by former Juventus manager Maurizio Lombardo.
“On August 30 2020, before sending an email to the lawyer Zaldua, I tried to get the all-clear from Paratici,” his testimony is reported to have said.
“In the reply, he wrote to send it to President Andrea Agnelli first and then the player’s lawyer. I replied that I had already sent the proposal to the President an hour earlier, because Paratici had already told me to proceed.
“The President never replied to the email, but Paratici told me he’d spoken to him and I could proceed in dealing with lawyer Zaldua.”