Italy's football federation, FIGC, has fined Juventus and banned chairman Andrea Agnelli after the club was found to have given tickets to hooligan fans.
Juventus are on course for a Champions league semi-final berth. Photo: Photosport
FIGC had fined the club $490,000 and given further fines and temporary bans to four of its executives including president Agnelli.
Juventus said it would appeal against the ruling. It denied wrongdoing and said it had always worked with police to ensure public safety and order.
Investigators had been looking into whether the club gave tickets to fans known as Ultras to avoid violence or racial abuse in the stands that might bring fines or docked points.
Such a large number of tickets had been given out over such a long period of time that rules on contributing to fan clubs would have been violated.
"It is no mystery that the entire management was committed to repairing relations with the ultras," FIGC said in a statement.
Agnelli, a member of the family that owns Fiat Chrysler, said in May he met the ultras to make sure they did not feel discriminated against, and to avoid "problems of public order".
Agnelli, who is also the head of the European Club Association (ECA), is now suspended from his role at Juventus for a year and will have to pay a $A40,000 penalty.
The three other officials have been given the same fine and banned from their posts for up to one year and three months.
- Reuters
