Former Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli suggested that the club were missing ‘an important person like Beppe Marotta’ following their 15-point deduction.
The Bianconeri have been handed the penalty by the FIGC court for allegedly inflating players’ values to falsify capital gains in their balance sheets. A 15-point deduction was given to Juventus, a punishment that saw them plummet down the Serie A table. They have already announced their intention to appeal.
Speaking to Radio Anch’io Sport, Cobolli Gigli first discussed what he’d say to Andrea Agnelli, who resigned in November amid the investigations into the club.
“I’d thank him for what he did in Juventus’ early years, for the Scudetti he won, also thanks to Marotta’s help. I would tell him that he did wrong to surround himself with a series of people.”
He touched on what to expect from UEFA following the FIGC court’s decision.
“A rigid attitude from UEFA. Evelina Christllin, a member of the FIFA board in the UEFA quota and a Juve fan, has said that it is a heavy blow, that we have to start again with our heads down, but she also pointed out that a series of things were done that led her to distance herself from the Juve management.
“So it is clear that things were done that should not have been done and that an important person like Marotta was missing. I don’t want to deify him, but he was able to manage the sports sector well.”
The former Bianconeri president commented on what further punishments the club could face.
“History repeats itself, in the sense that Juve could be subject to penalties as with Calciopoli, but here the arguments are completely different.
“Calciopoli investigated the unhealthy relationships between teams and referees, here instead it is a discourse that concerns capital gains.
“We are waiting for the FIGC Court of Appeal to publish its appeal to understand the reasons why only Juve were deducted 15 penalty points and the other teams were not.”
Finally, Cobolli Gigli spoke about the next steps and future for Juventus, with the Prisma investigation still rumbling on.
“Juve have appealed to CONI, which may give results, but they will not change the penalty, that is, they can only cancel it or uphold it. Or, as the lawyer Cantamessa says and I trust him, it will be possible to send the judgement back to the Court for a new trial.
“Then there are other things that are not pleasant to hear: the discourse on salaries also touches on penalties, waiting for UEFA to comment.
“Juve’s new board of directors are certainly beset by several very difficult issues. The most worrying thing concerns the salaries manoeuvre, because there could be talk of false accounting.”
Juventus are still at risk of receiving punishment from the ongoing Prisma investigation, headed by the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is focused on alleged secret player salary agreements.