In what was one of the most chaotic campaigns in recent memory, Juventus finished the Serie A season in 7th place.
On the pitch, Max Allegri’s men culminated enough points to place themselves in third place, behind Scudetto winners Napoli and runners-up Lazio. Nevertheless, a 10-point penalty dropped the Old Lady down from third to seventh.
This was due to a court ruling in the Plusvalenza case. This was a case revolving around alleged capital gains registered in an unlawful manner, mainly by inflating players’ values.
While a host of clubs and officials were part of the original trial, only Juventus stood in the retrial. That’s because the public prosecutor reopened the case after collecting evidence in the Prisma investigation (a separate inquiry related to salary maneuvers during the Covid-19 pandemic).
The court initially handed Juventus a 15-point penalty, but the Olympic Committee referred the case back to the Court of Appeal. So the final decision settled on a 10-point deduction, which was deemed sufficient to rule the club out of Champions League contention.
But according to Italian journalist and self-proclaimed Milan supporter Carlo Pellegatti, Juventus have certainly done something wrong to warrant the penalty.
The journalist admits that his beloved Rossoneri only had access to the Champions League thanks to Juve’s point deduction.
The Diavolo completed the double over the Bianconeri last season, but the Turin-based giants still collected more points than Stefano Pioli’s men – at least on the pitch.
Nevertheless, the court ruling turned the tide in Milan’s favor, which Pellegatti considers a fair call.
“There is no doubt that Milan finished 5th even though they beat Juventus twice,” said the famous Italian journalist in an interview with Sitiscomese journalist Lidia Toscano.
“But as a friend of mine told me, we talk more about penalties than crimes. So if Juventus received a 10-point penalty, they must have done something wrong.
“If they took 10 points away from them then they must have found them guilty of something, otherwise they wouldn’t have removed these points.
“Milan finished 5th despite beating Juventus on two occasions. Like when there is a horse on the home straight and he commits a foul, he gets demoted.
“If they demoted him, then he surely did something wrong. You don’t say ‘well, I finished 3rd, but if they hadn’t demoted that horse I would have finished 4th’.
“And no, if they have demoted him, it means that he has committed an impropriety. That’s how it works in horse racing.”
Aside from showcasing his horse racing expertise, Pellegatti also discussed the future of former Juventus, Inter and Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Swedish legend finally decided to end his playing career following never-ending bouts with injuries.
The retired striker pledged his future to Milan, but Pellegatti doesn’t see him in a coaching role.
“No, definitely not on the Milan bench, but perhaps he would do well as a club manager at Milanello to keep the trait d’union between the management and the squad. He would obviously link up with Stefano Pioli.
“I would love to so him assert this new role as soon as possible. But now he wants to take a sabbatical. I absolutely love Ibrahimovic the footballer.”
The journalist also urges club directors to start working on launching stadium projects to catch up with the rest of Europe.
“I repeat: We must build new stadiums! These would be a major boost for Italian football. The American owners at Milan understood it, the American owners at Roma as well, and the same goes for Fiorentina president Rocco Commisso.
“This is how we can bridge the gap. Without new stadiums it will be very difficult.”