An independent committee convicted English club Manchester City of committing violations of the English Premier League’s financial regulations in the period between the 2009-2010 and 2017-2018 seasons.
Amidst anticipation of the thorny decision to impose sanctions against the English club, the British news agency (PA Media) reviews a series of the strongest sanctions in the history of sports.
At the forefront of these penalties is the “Calciopoli” scandal, in which Juventus was relegated to the Italian second division, in addition to deducting 9 points from its score after prominent officials in the club were involved in tampering with arbitration decisions.
The sanctions also included stripping Juventus of the Italian Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, and deducting points from Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina.
In the SpyJet scandal, the McLaren team, which competes in the Formula 1 World Championship, was punished with a fine of $100 million in addition to being excluded from the World Manufacturers’ Championship due to the leak of confidential information containing about 800 pages about the Ferrari team’s car for the 2007 season.
This information was leaked by Nigel Stepney, a Ferrari employee, to his friend Mike Coughlan, chief designer at the McLaren team.
The plan was revealed when Coughlan's wife took the documents to a local photocopying store, where she aroused the suspicions of the store owner, who was a Ferrari fan, and he informed the Italian team officials of the matter.
In 2016, Durham Cricket Club was relegated to the second division after the England and Wales Cricket Board decided to deduct 48 points from its score due to the team suffering from financial problems due to its huge spending on developing its stadium to host the largest number of international matches.
The penalties also included deducting points from the club's balance in limited-round competitions and stripping it of hosting test matches.
Saracens, the four-time English Premier Rugby League champion, was also punished with a 35-point deduction and a £5 million fine in November 2019, for not adhering to the salary cap.
Because of this punishment, the team was placed at the bottom of the league table, and at the beginning of 2020, the English Premier Rugby League confirmed Saracens’ relegation to the second division for the 2020-2021 season, due to its inability to reduce the salary cap.
In 1906, the English Football Association convicted Manchester City of violating player payment regulations aimed at ensuring equal opportunities and fair competition.
The penalties included 17 players, in addition to banning two club officials for life, and banning two others for one year.
In another spying scandal, Southampton was excluded from the English Premier League qualifiers last May, losing potential financial gains of no less than 200 million pounds over three seasons if it advances to the Premier League.
Southampton was punished after the club admitted to three espionage charges, one of which related to Middlesbrough, before the two teams’ match in the qualifiers. It was also decided to deduct 4 points from Southampton's balance this season.
Lionel Scaloni, the coach of the Argentine national football team, confirmed his desire to continue with Tango, indicating that renewing his contract, which expires next December, is only a matter of time.
Scaloni said, on the eve of the confrontation with Bolivia: “I spoke briefly with the president of the Argentine Federation to see if we could move forward and reach an agreement. "We have these upcoming matches, but it's just a matter of reaching an agreement."
The website of the Spanish newspaper “Marca” quoted Scaloni as saying: “The desire is there, and this is the most important thing.” I am determined to continue, motivated to continue working and ready to reach an agreement. When we have something, we will announce it.”
Scaloni explained that the number 10 shirt, which is worn by national team captain Lionel Messi, will not be worn by any player during the matches between Bolivia and Burkina Faso, before the friendly match against Benin on October 6, which will be the farewell match for Messi, who announced his retirement from international football.
The Argentine coach has currently ruled out holding the Villalissima match against Spain, which was scheduled to bring together the South American and European champions before the World Cup.
Scaloni said: “I have no idea about that, but looking at the match schedule, I do not see that holding the match is possible at the present time.”
Italian football club Juventus announced on Tuesday that it will ask shareholders to approve a capital increase of up to 250 million euros ($283 million), warning of incurring a new loss during the current financial year.
The club said in a statement that it will ask shareholders to authorize the board of directors to issue new shares, in one or several batches, by the end of 2026.
Juventus explained that the proposed increase aims to strengthen its capital base and enhance its sporting competitiveness, as well as support the development of its strategic real estate assets, including its stadium in Turin, and consolidate its financial sustainability in the long term.
He added that the main shareholder, Exor Holding Company, affiliated with the Agnelli family, will support the operation by immediately pumping 60 million euros into the club, which competes in the Italian First Division. Exor owns about 65 percent of Juventus shares.
In terms of financial results, Juventus recorded a loss of 66 million euros in the financial year ending on June 30, compared to a loss of 58.1 million euros a year ago.
The club also expected to incur another loss during the current financial year after its absence from the Champions League this season, but indicated the expectation of a “gradual improvement” in its financial performance over the next two years.
Investors have pumped about one billion euros into Juventus over the past seven years, while the last year in which the club achieved profits dates back to the 2016-2017 financial season.
