Juventus up to third after points penalty suspended
Juventus' 15-point penalty for illicit transfer activity was revoked on Thursday after Italy's highest sporting court ruled that the case should be re-examined. The decision bumped the Turin giants up to third in Serie A on 59 points, but they will have to wait for a new ruling from the Italian Football Federation's (FIGC) appeals court, which inflicted the original punishment. In a statement The Sports Guarantee Board asked the FIGC court to revise the punishments handed down to the club and some of its key figures, including former deputy chairman Pavel Nedved, who had been handed bans by the original ruling. However the long bans given to former chairman Andrea Agnelli, ex-CEO Maurizio Arrivabene and sporting directors Federico Cherubini and Fabio Paratici were upheld. In January, Juve had been found guilty by the FIGC appeals court of having "systematically altered accounting documents... from at least the quarter ending March 31, 2019 to the quarter ending March 31, 2021". The offences related to around 60 million euros ($65.7 million) of "phony capital gains" from transfers "aimed at making financial results look better than they were in reality", according to the appeals court. Juve are 16 points behind league leaders Napoli, who they host in Turin on Sunday, while both AC Milan and Inter Milan have been knocked out of Serie A's Champions League places as a result of Thursday's ruling. (AFP)