Serie A and Juventus fans will well remember the uproar that was caused by the formation of the European Super League breakaway proposal that came to light a few years back, as fans across mostly all of the major European domestic leagues absolutely utterly revolted against the idea, and the money driven closed shop approached that some clubs preferred.
The vast majority of the originally announced clubs who stated they had an intention to take part, ultimately withdrew within the opening 48 hours owing to the volatile push back they received from their own fans who felt the very idea was against the competitive, and historic, spirit of the game of football.
Some clubs remained steadfast to their original plan and felt that it could somehow easily sit alongside existing UEFA commitments during a normal season, and for a long time, Juventus were one of those clubs, but this weekend they have announced their intention to withdraw participation and involvement.
Having originally, and quickly, falling at the first hurdle back in 2021, Juve, Barcelona and Real Madrid stayed true to the principles, but last month the Serie A side demanded talks with their Spanish counterparts to force their exit.
Their statement, following these talks, will interest fans and lawyers alike, given they claim their release from the non-existent competition will on be completed and effective upon the authorisation of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
“Following such discussions, and given the existing discrepancies on the interpretation of the relevant contractual terms applicable to the Super League Project, Juventus confirms that it has initiated the procedure to exit.”
There is no denying that Juventus have not had the greatest of times lately. Following their more recent successes in Serie A and nine Scudetto’s in a row, it has all turned in the last few years and in the last few months in particular, they were initially docked 15 points by the Italian Football Association for financial rule breaches. This was overturned, but a second hearing led to them accepting a ten point deduction.
Following their seventh placed finish in the 2022/23 campaign, had they not suffered a ten point deduction they would have qualified for the Champions League again, but that was obviously not the case and it was then expected that they would feature in the Europa Conference League, but last week it started being reported that Juventus had struck an agreement with UEFA to skip European football this year given other charges that they face, and that they will again be eligible in 2024/25 should they qualify.
The truth of that last point features contradictory information in the media, as the BBC report this weekend that the club will be in the Europa Conference League after all.
Many will think this move is an attempt by Juventus to draw a line.
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