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| General view of the Allianz Stadium during the Serie A match between Juventus and US Cremonese at Allianz Stadium on May 14, 2023 in Turin, Italy. |
Juventus will not play in Europe next season after being banned over breaches of UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play rules, while Premier League side Chelsea will pay 10 million euros for submitting incomplete financial information, Europe’s football governing body the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) said on Friday.
“Juventus violated UEFA’s regulatory framework…and it was decided to exclude Juventus from the 2023/24 UEFA men’s club competition,” said a UEFA statement.
UEFA said the 10-million-euro additional fine will only be applied if the 2023, 2024 and 2025 financial years do not meet their accounting requirements.
Juventus said in a statement that they accepted the decision and would not appeal the sanction.
“Juventus, while continuing to consider the alleged violations insubstantial and its actions correct, has declared to accept the decision,” the club said.
However, they insisted that this did not “constitute admission of any liability against itself.”
“We regret the decisions of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body,” said Juventus President Gianluco Ferrero, who added the club preferred “to put an end to a period of uncertainty.”
Ferrero highlighted the “uncertainty about a possible participation in the 2024/2025 season of the Champions League” that could weigh on an appeal procedure.
“We now focus our attention on the Championship and the Italian Cup: we will do our utmost to give our fans the greatest possible satisfaction in these competitions,” said a Juventus statement, as the club qualified for the Conference League playoff round after finishing seventh in Serie A last term.
Fiorentina, who finished in eighth place in Serie A last season, are likely to replace Juventus in the Conference League.
UEFA also reached a settlement with Chelsea over the submission of incomplete financial information, related to “historical transactions” between 2012-19, prior to the London club’s acquisition by the Boehly-Clearlake consortium in 2022.
“Following the club’s sale in May 2022, the new ownership identified, and proactively reported to UEFA, instances of potentially incomplete financial reporting under the club’s previous ownership,” UEFA said.
In response, the club said in a statement, “Chelsea has fully cooperated and assisted UEFA with its investigation of these matters and, following an analysis by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body, the club has entered into a settlement agreement with UEFA. Under that settlement the club is to pay a financial contribution of 10 million euros to UEFA as a fixed payment.”
Chelsea, who finished 12th in the Premier League following a chaotic campaign, will not be competing in Europe in 2023-24.
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