Plea bargains by ex-Juventus executives accepted

A judge in Rome has accepted a plea bargain request by former Juventus executives, including ex-chairman Andrea Agnelli, to settle a false accounting case relating to their time with the Italian club.

The agreed prison sentences of 20 months for Agnelli, 18 months for ex-sporting director Fabio Paratici and 14 months for former vice-chairman Pavel Nedved have been suspended and will not be served.

Under Italian law, plea bargaining does not involve an admission of guilt. The former executives and Juventus, who are listed on the Milan stock exchange, have denied wrongdoing.

Juventus have also been fined 156,000 euros (£136,000) by the judge.

Prosecutors launched an investigation in 2021, looking at whether the club received illegal commissions from player transfers and loans, and whether investors had been misled.

Monday's decision marks the conclusion of the case.

The club said: "The plea agreement does not entail any admission or recognition of liability."

Juventus stressed "the correctness of its conduct and the soundness of its defensive arguments" and said it had "deemed it appropriate" to make a plea bargain "in the best interest of the company itself, its shareholders and all stakeholders".

The club also reached a settlement with investors.

Former chief executive Maurizio Arrivabene was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Juventus were deducted 10 Serie A points in May 2023 following an investigation into the club's transfer dealings.

Former Czech Republic midfielder Nedved played for Juventus between 2001 and 2009, winning the Ballon d'Or in 2003.

Paratici joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2021 as managing director of football, but he left the Premier League club in 2023 after an appeal against a two-and-a-half-year Fifa ban for alleged financial irregularities dating back to his spell at Juventus was rejected by Italy's highest sports court.

His suspension expired in July.