‘I hate Juventus’: prosecutor forced to leave case against Serie A club. A source with direct knowledge of the situation claimed on Wednesday that one of the three prosecutors charging Juventus with financial malfeasance had left the investigation as a result of the exposure of his disparaging remarks about the team.
Ciro Santoriello, a prosecutor in Turin, declared in a video taken at a judicial seminar in Milan in 2019, one year before the investigation against Juventus began, “I am a tremendous fan of Napoli, I loathe Juventus.” As a soccer supporter, he continued, “I care for Napoli, as a prosecutor, I am against Juventus, and against robbery on the pitch.”
‘I hate Juventus’: prosecutor forced to leave case against Serie A club
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Because of their involvement in a match-fixing incident involving the distribution of referees, Juventus was demoted to Serie B in 2006. The video infuriated Juventus supporters and sparked debate about potential prejudice in evaluating the team. It has since been widely shared on social media. Santoriello has not contested the video’s veracity.
the former chairman of Juventus, together with 11 other people and the club itself have been asked to testify in court on charges of false accounting. Juventus has asserted that its accounting complied with industry norms and denied any misconduct.
According to the source, prosecutor Santoriello informed Turin’s top prosecutor of his decision and stated that he wished to avoid any potential pressure from the media on the trial once the video surfaced again. Santoriello stated that he had no more comment in an email response to Reuters.
On Monday, a preliminary hearing will begin to determine whether to acquit the defendants or send them to trial. These hearings may go on for months. The other two prosecutors in charge of the inquiry will be there, the person said.
A separate Italian sports authority probe into the club’s finances was sparked by the Turin investigation, and Juventus this season received a 15-point penalty as a result. With 11 games left, Napoli leads Serie A by a margin of 19 points and looks destined to win the championship for just the third time in club history. At 30 points behind the lead, Juventus sit in seventh place.
