Capital gains, the Tar puts Juve back in the game: skip the penalty?

Administrative justice disavows sports justice. Or, at least, bring it back into play Juventus in the capital gains process, which has so far cost the penalty of 15 points in the standings pending the next developments. The intertwining of the different levels of justice, from whatever angle the problem is looked at, contributes to fueling uncertainty and producing the worst side effect: the loss of credibility of the entire football system.

The reconstruction of the ‘technical’ aspects of what is happening helps to understand how bumpy the path is. The origin of the story is the referral by the FIGC federal prosecutor for alleged offenses deriving from “violations in management and economic matters”, which refer to articles 31 of the Sports Justice Code. The Lazio Regional Administrative Court, accepting the appeal of the Bianconeri’s defence, granted one week to Co.Vi.So.C. to produce a copy of the “interpretative clarifications” on the matter. This is an assessment of the effects of the players’ transfer on the balance sheets for the purpose of registering for the respective championships. That is, the effect of capital gains on balance sheets.

The motivations of the Tar plunge the knife into the wound, highlighting the shortcomings of sports justice. The Tar deemed Juventus’ appeal against the decision not to grant access to the document “certainly admissible”, because it was in the interest of the appellants “in the absence of precise regulation of defensive access in matters of sports law” .

Why is this step considered so important? Because in the evaluation of the defense of Juventus those answers would shift the terms that establish the timeliness of the disputes of the federal prosecutor, determining the inadmissibility of the trial. And the immediate consequence would be the cancellation of the 15-point penalty in the current Serie A championship standings.

While awaiting further developments, the next moves and counter-moves that will take place on the legal level, an initial conclusion can be drawn: intervening during the current championship, with all interests at stake also on the economic level, is a choice that the tools and means of sports justice, also in relation to the relationship with administrative justice, evidently make it a gamble. Regardless of any responsibility and the real or alleged torts that must be prosecuted. The theme, not a secondary one, is to do it in a credible setting. (From Fabio Prays)