Juve deducted 15 points for transfer fiddling
Juventus has been deducted 15 points in the wake of an investigation into the club's past transfer dealings.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) confirmed the news on Saturday (AEDT), with ex-Juve director Fabio Paratici, who is now at Tottenham Hotspur, given a two-and-a-half-year ban from Italian football.
Paratici's ban includes a request for an extension to cover UEFA and FIFA activities, meaning potentially a big knock-on impact for Premier League side Spurs.
Former Juve chairman Andrea Agnelli has also been banned from holding office in Italian football for the next two years.
Juventus intends to appeal the punishment, considering it "a clear injustice towards millions of fans".
The Bianconeri had been third in Serie A, but have now dropped to 10th – 12 points off the UEFA Champions League places – as a result of the punishment.
Turin Public Prosecutor's Office had been seeking a nine-point deduction after a hearing earlier in the day.
But the FIGC went with a harsher punishment after Juve was found to have used transfers to boost its balance sheet artificially.
The sanction comes on the back of chairman Agnelli, vice-president Pavel Nedved and the rest of the Bianconeri's board resigning en-masse last year.
That came in the wake of an investigation being launched into financial violations during their time in charge.
A separate ruling made last year acquitted Juve and other clubs of their financial conduct within Serie A, with a case centred on player values in exchanges and transfers.
But football prosecutors reopened the case Juve after seeking new documents collected by public prosecutors in Turin surrounding the club's conduct.
Juve has denied any wrongdoing, while lawyers claimed prosecutors had not brought enough in to reach the adequate threshold for a new ruling.
The 36-time Italian champion is next in action on Monday (AEDT) at home to Atalanta, in what was set to be a crucial clash in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification.
