Cassano stands up for Juventus after points penalty

Antonio Cassano is by his own admission one of the heaviest critics of Juventus, but surprisingly finds himself ‘on the Bianconeri’s side’ after a 15-point penalty for inflated capital gains. ‘If they did this, then other clubs did too and they must all be punished.’

The initial trial into artificially boosted transfer fees to inflate capital gains had resulted in all the clubs being cleared of wrongdoing, arguing it was impossible to tell how much a player was worth other than what both parties decide on.

However, the appeal was granted to re-open that trial in the light of new evidence and only Juventus were punished with a 15-point penalty.

“I will just say that if the law applies to Juventus, it has to apply to all the Italian clubs,” said Cassano on BoboTV.

“Obviously, Juve warrant 50 pages in the newspapers, whereas the other clubs are all little sidebars. Let us not kid ourselves that only Juve did this: if they did this, then other clubs did too and they must all be punished.”

The former Roma, Real Madrid, Milan, Sampdoria and Inter star famously said he would never join Juventus and has been perhaps the most vocal critic of Max Allegri’s style of football, even during the run of consecutive victories.

He is the first to recognise that his position on this matter is somewhat unexpected.

“Look, I rarely defend Juve on any level, because they play horrible football, but in this case I am on the Bianconeri’s side. That means if they made a mistake, it is right that they pay, even going into Serie C. But it has to be the same for everyone. If that happens, it’s not just Juve who are going to be punished, it’s going to be a tidal wave through Serie A, B and C.”