OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL: Juventus given one-year ban from European competition

The expected news that we’ve been waiting weeks for is here.

Officially.

Juventus won’t be playing in any of UEFA’s three continental club competitions during the 2023-24 season as a result of “breaches of financial fair play”,”it was announced on Friday evening. That means Juventus, who was knocked down from third place to seventh in the Serie A standings thanks to a 10-point penalty given out right before the late-May loss to Empoli, won’t be part of the 2023-24 Europa Conference League field. Juve will also pay a hefty fine of €10 million, with €10 million of it being conditional based on financial results.

As a result of Juventus’ ban from European competition this coming season, the Bianconeri’s spot in the Conference League will go to Fiorentina, one of the two sides to play for the Conference League title last season.

This is not a surprise. Not one bit. This is something that we’ve been expecting ever since the first points penalty was handed down back in January. The likelihood of Juventus playing in Europe was essentially 0% the second that UEFA got involved and opened their own investigation into Juve’s financial activities. And once the FIGC played a role in making sure Juventus wouldn’t be in the Champions League, the ability to ban Juventus completely became a certainty.

Although, you gotta believe that UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin would have probably gotten a little more joy in having the ability to ban Juve from the Champions League rather than just the Conference League. That’s simply because of how the relationship between Juventus and UEFA has broken down ever since Andrea Agnelli broke off and tried to get the Super League up and running and then insisted on sticking with the Super League despite being only one of last three clubs involved.

So now there’s just two competitions in which Juve will take part in this season — the regular Serie A schedule as well as the Coppa Italia, in which they will hop in on in the round of 16 but also have been drawn on the same side of the bracket as Scudetto holders Napoli.

There are also financial conditions in the announcement in which Juventus must adhere to over the next year to ensure that they are eligible for European competition in the 2024-25 season.

Juventus President Gianluca Ferrero issued the following statement after UEFA’s announcement of the European ban for the 2023-24 season:

“We regret the decision of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body. We do not share the interpretation that has been given of our defense, and we remain firmly convinced of the legitimacy of our actions and the validity of our arguments.“However, we have decided not to appeal this judgment. This decision is in line with the one taken last May in the context of the disputes with the FIGC. As in that case, we prefer to put an end to the period of uncertainty and ensure full visibility and certainty to our internal and external stakeholders about the club’s participation in future international competitions. Lodging an appeal, possibly to other levels of judgement, with uncertain outcomes and timing, would increase the uncertainty with respect to our eventual participation in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League. Instead, we want the first team, our fans, our sponsors, suppliers and financial partners to be able to experience the 2023/24 season with the utmost serenity and certainty with respect to the results achievable on the pitch, especially after the turbulent past season.

“Despite this painful decision we can now face the new season by focusing on the field and not on the courts.

“We now focus our attention on the Championship and the Italian Cup: we will do our utmost to give our fans the greatest possible satisfaction in these competitions.”