The Federation wants to avoid a sub judice classification. But the club, ready to give up on Europe in order to close the issue, needs guarantees that the UEFA blow won’t come
The day after the minus 10 points decided by the Federal Court of Appeal is filled with silence. All officially buttoned up. Above all, Juve does not let anything pass through beyond the bitterness of Monday evening’s press release. There are still too many unknowns of a road map which, by now we know, will not only be Italian but will inevitably involve UEFA. No comment either from the Football Federation and also from Coni, where sporting justice was discussed yesterday, one is careful not to make even the slightest reference to the specificity of the case. Still, there is a scenario that could make its way through the various traps that lead to new tensions. Defining it a peace plan is decidedly exaggerated, but the impression is that the hypothesis of a plea bargain on salary measures, as a symbolic passage of a new atmosphere, cannot yet be ruled out. Of course it is too early, you have to cross territories that could multiply the distances. But also reduce them.
First of all there are the variables of the pitch, these last two league matches which will have to tell us in which position in the standings, and in which Europe Juve could earn the right to play, naturally with the unknown Uefa all to be verified. Then there is a date underlined in red on all sides, that of June 15, the hearing for the salary maneuver, with its outline, so to speak, of other delicate issues, the alleged irregular relations with suspect agents and partnerships, the other reasons for incrimination signed by the prosecutor Giuseppe Chinè in the deed of referral. It is clear that a shift in the direction of relaxation, in short, a relaunch of the negotiation for the plea agreement, will take place in the period between the end of the Serie A and the hearing before the Federal Court. Those will be the days that will tell us the truth about a possible turning point.
But what would this scenario be made from. That is, what conditions might help or even determine the plea deal? It is obvious that the first condition is to make the conviction for the capital gains final, without legal codes. The speech naturally concerns the club because the inhibited managers are already in a position to resort to administrative justice, see Tar. Not the club, the club will have to read the reasons and will then have 30 days to appeal to the Collegio di Garanzia dello Sport. However, it would in any case have little space to be accepted given that the Court of Appeal took into account all the observations of the judges of the last instance at the CONI. In any case, the appeal could cause scorched earth around the possibility of a plea deal. Here the watershed are the reasons that will arrive at the end of the month.
At the same time, there is a need: to prevent the Juve case from holding the present and future hostage on the stage by continuing to give the floor to lawyers, appeals and tensions. An agreement on the plea deal, which in any case – we recall – would need a go-ahead from the president and the federal council as well as from the General Prosecutor of Sport, the body that coordinates the work of the various federal prosecutors at Coni – could find its point of fall. An afflictive sanction such as to preclude Juve from all European competitions, however, putting a definitive point on the matter. A solution that should reduce or perhaps cancel the risks of further intervention by UEFA. With whom, in any case, there have been contacts which, however, have so far only been able to photograph distant positions, given also the Superlega totem which, despite the change of management team and the abandonment of Andrea Agnelli, continues to make relations between Ceferin and the black and white club.
Is there room for mediation? The word is wrong. Despite all the conspiracy theories, which in situations like these are never lacking, sports justice has in any case demonstrated a good deal of autonomy in recent months. And let’s face it, the problem of a faster timing exists but any delicate decision, at any time it is taken, would produce discomfort (can you imagine a European qualification canceled by a sentence at the end of the championship?). The possibility is different that the gaps left open by the codes and by the verdicts can be used to finally arrive at a change of scenery after months of judicial-sporting vicissitudes. A possibility that must be filled with content. We would venture to say of a compromise. On the other hand, plea bargaining is in some way and it is clear that there is a common interest in crossing this finish line. For now still far away, but that the next episodes could bring.
May 24, 2023 (change May 24, 2023 | 00:37)
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