Juventus, Italy's most powerful soccer club, will be forced to forfeit 15 Serie A points after an Italian court essentially found that it had rigged transfer deals and the finances related to them.
The point deduction will be applied to the current season, and will be a crushing blow to Juve's hopes of remaining among European soccer's elite. It will take the Turin-based club from third place all the way down to 11th at the midway point of the season.
Italy's soccer federation announced the point deduction Friday. It stems from the "plusvalenza," or capital gains scandal. Juventus allegedly inflated the values of outgoing transfers in its accounting so that it could comply with financial regulations.
In addition to the point deduction, Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli will be banned from Italian soccer for two years. Other executives involved were also suspended.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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