TURIN COURT RELOCATES JUVENTUS ACCOUNTING CASE TO ROME COURT

The Italian Supreme Court announced late on Wednesday that a fraudulent accounting case against Juventus will be moved from Turin to Rome at the request of the defense attorneys.

The Supreme Court’s decision, which was made following a hearing behind closed doors, will cause the procedures to drag on because, in accordance with Italian law, the case will now be returned back to the investigation stage and delivered to the Rome prosecutor’s office.

The question of whether former Juventus Chairman Andrea Agnelli, 11 other individuals, and the club itself should go to trial over claims of false accounting at Italy’s most successful team was first raised by a judge in Turin in March.

While local prosecutors wanted to keep the case in Turin, defense attorneys claimed that it should have been moved to Milan, where the club is listed on the stock exchange, or Rome.

Juventus has asserted that their accounting complies with industry norms and denied any misconduct.

After looking into the club’s accounts and representations made to financial markets over the course of three recent years, prosecutors in Turin asked that the accused be put on trial in December of last year.

The Turin criminal inquiry sparked independent investigations by Italy’s football authorities, which ultimately cost Juventus a 10-point reduction from their Serie A standing last season, a 718,000 euro ($770,000) fine, and a ban from this season’s European championships as determined by UEFA. ($1 = 0.9321 euros)