Juventus President Andrea Agnelli Banned Over Ticket Scalping Scandal
Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has been banned from football for a year by the Italian football federation due to the role he played in selling tickets to Juventus ultras that encouraged ticket scalping.
According to Football Italia, Juventus have also been fined €300k; and the ban comes after prosecutor Giuseppe Pecoraro had requested a two-and-a-half year ban as well as a €50k fine for Agnelli.
Furthermore, he asked for the Bianconeri to play two matches behind closed doors and another match with the Curva Sud (a section of the stadium) sealed off. It is believed that members of that particular part of the stadium have connections to organised crime - though no punishments are to be handed out in regards to that as of yet.
Pecoraro hinted that he is preparing to appeal the decision in hope of a stronger sentence being handed out.
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"I am partially satisfied because we managed to prove everyone’s guilt but the facts are so serious that I think they should be punished more," the prosecutor told Italian news outlet Ansa (via Fox Sports).
"I think the judgment of another court would be useful, taking into account that the resources coming from the ticket scalping went to a criminal organisation, and that is very serious."
Agnelli's suspension comes less than three weeks after his appointment to chair the European Club Association - of which there are 220 members.
The president was also fined €20k along with club executives Francesco Calvo and Stefano Merulla (who were also banned from football for a year). Furthermore Alessandro Nicola D’Angelo was suspended for an extra three months more than the others.
