The entire Juventus board of directors resigned on Monday. President Andrea Agnelli and Vice President Pavel Nedved were included in the march.
The news of the mass resignations comes about a month after reports emerged that the Italian club was under investigation for false accounting. Agnelli, Nedved and 13 other Juve officials were named in the initial investigation. The club president previously had a request for house arrest rejected by a preliminary judge.
The crux of the investigation involved whether or not the Turin-based team took kickbacks on player transfers. However, Juve possibly also issued false invoices for transfers that never actually happened. This could be considered false accounting.
Juve’s board of directors discussed these issues during a meeting on Monday. Ultimately, the decision is that a new board can better handle the situation.
The Juventus board of directors resigns to improve the club
Agnelli had previously been with the club since 2010. The former team president wrote a letter explaining the circumstances to Juve staff. Reuters obtained that letter.
In the letter, Agnelli described that the decision to resign was in the best interest of the club.
“When the team is not cohesive, it becomes vulnerable and that can be fatal,” said Agnelli.
“This is when you have to stay calm and contain the damage: the company is going through a delicate phase and we are no longer cohesive. It is better to retire all together, giving a new team the opportunity to turn the game around.
The club also has problems on the field
Juve have also had a difficult season on the pitch. The Old Lady only managed to win one of their six Champions League group stage matches. Subsequently, Juventus failed to qualify for the knockout round and went through to the Europa League.
Domestically, the Italian giants have also struggled. Although Juve moved up to third in the Serie A standings, they were in eighth place just five weeks ago.
Maurizio Arrivabene will take over as interim president of the team’s board of directors. There are no plans for a new group announcement until January. A meeting is then held to determine the new board.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Nicolo Campo
