‘I hate Juventus’: prosecutor forced to leave case against Serie A club

One of three prosecutors accusing Juventus of financial misconduct has left the case after the emergence of derogatory comments he made about the team, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

In a video shot at a legal conference in Milan in 2019, a year before the inquiry into Juventus opened, Turin prosecutor Ciro Santoriello said: “I am a huge fan of Napoli, I hate Juventus.” He added in what appears to be a lighthearted exchange: “As a soccer fan I care about Napoli, as a prosecutor I am against Juventus, against robberies on the pitch.”

Juventus were relegated to Serie B in 2006 for their part in a match-fixing scandal centred on the allocation of referees. The video, which has been recirculated widely on social media in recent months, angered Juventus supporters and raised questions over possible bias in examining the club. Santoriello has not questioned the authenticity of the video.

Public prosecutors in Turin have requested that the former Juventus chairman, Andrea Agnelli, 11 other people and the club itself stand trial over allegations of false accounting. Juventus have denied wrongdoing and said their accounting was in line with industry standards.

The source said prosecutor Santoriello communicated his decision to Turin’s chief prosecutor, saying he wanted to avoid any potential pressures from media on the trial after the video resurfaced. In an emailed reply to Reuters, Santoriello said he had no comment.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled to start on Monday to decide whether to send the defendants to trial or acquit them. Such hearings can last months. It will be attended by the other two prosecutors in charge of the investigation, the source said.

The Turin investigation has triggered a separate inquiry over the club finances by Italy’s sport authority, which resulted in a 15-point deduction for Juventus this season. Napoli have a 19-point cushion at the top of Serie A with 11 games remaining and appear certain to win the title for only the third time in the club’s history. Juve are in seventh place, 30 points off the pace.

Juventus have appealed against the decision at Italy’s sports guarantee board. A hearing on the case is scheduled on 19 April.