Juventus board resigns as financial investigation continues

The entire Juventus board of directors resigned on Monday. President Andrea Agnelli and vice president Pavel Nedved were both included in the walk out.

News of the mass resignations comes about a month after reports surfaced that the Italian club was under investigation for false accounting. Agnelli, Nedved, and 13 other officials at Juve were all named in the initial investigation. The club president previously had a request of house arrest rejected by a preliminary judge.

The crux of the inquiry involved whether or not the Turin-based team cashed in on illegal commissions on player transfers. However, Juve also possibly issued fake invoices for transfers that never actually happened. This could be deemed as false accounting.

Juve’s board of directors discussed these issues during a meeting on Monday. Ultimately, the decision is that a brand new board can handle the situation better.

Juventus board resigns for betterment of club

Agnelli had previously been with the club since 2010. The former team president wrote a letter explaining the circumstances to Juve staff. Reuters obtained that letter.

In the letter, Agnelli described that the decision to step down was best for the club.

“When the team is not cohesive it becomes vulnerable and that can be fatal,” claimed Agnelli.

“This is when you need to keep calm and contain damages: the company is going through a delicate phase and we’re no longer cohesive. Better to quit all together, giving the chance to a new team to turn the game around.”

Club also has on-field issues

Juve have also endured a tough season on the pitch as well. The Old Lady only managed to win one of their six Champions League group stage matches. Subsequently, Juventus failed to qualify for the knockout round and transitioned to the Europa League.

Domestically, the Italian giants have also struggled. Although Juve have moved up to third in the Serie A standings, they were as low as eighth just five weeks ago.

Maurizio Arrivabene will take over as interim president of the team’s board. There is no plans for announcement on a new group until January. Then, a meeting takes place to determine the new board.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Nicolo Campo