Juventus held on in Lisbon to sneak past Sporting CP and into the Europa League semi-finals following a 1-1 draw while their ‘ 15-point penalty over transfer dealings has been reversed, with Italy’s highest sporting court ordering the case to be re-examined moving them to third in Serie A table.
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Scorers: Edwards (PEN) 20′; Rabiot 9′
Juventus found the goal they needed to relieve some pressure on the scoreline, as a poor clearing attempt from Sporting allowed Adrien Rabiot to tap in Juve’s opener from point-blank range.
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Rabiot’s celebrations did not last long however, as he took down a Sporting player in the box just ten minutes later, forcing the referee to award the hosts a penalty kick.
He was punished for his actions as well, as Marcus Edwards stepped up and dispatched with aplomb, cutting Juve’s lead in the tie in half.
Juve looked to reclaim their two-goal advantage in the tie before the hour mark, but somehow Dušan Vlahović saw his header from point-blank range goes fizzing wide.
A 15-point penalty reversed sees them third in Serie A
Juventus’ 15-point penalty over transfer dealings has been reversed, with Italy’s highest sporting court ordering the case to be re-examined.
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Juve was punished in January after being found guilty of false accounting.
The club has now moved from seventh to third in Serie A, but could still be punished at a later date when a new hearing is held.
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Tottenham director of football Fabio Paratici lost his appeal against a 30-month ban as part of the same case.
The former Juve sporting director was one of 11 directors at the club, either former or still in place at the time of the ruling, who were sanctioned.
He stepped back from his role at Spurs when his ban was increased to be worldwide, at the same time as the North London club began searching for a replacement for former manager Antonio Conte.
Like Paratici, former president Andrea Agnelli, ex-chief executive Maurizio Arrivabene and sports director Federico Cherubini had their appeals rejected.
Former player and director Pavel Nedved, Paolo Garimberti and Enrico Vellano were successful with their appeals.
Juve’s case will now return to the Italian Football Federation appeals court, the body which gave the initial punishment.
With eight games to go in the season, AC Milan has been knocked out of the Champions League places by Juve while Roma drop to fourth.
Juventus chief football officer Francesco Calvo welcomed the decision, saying it provided certainty to the Turin club and the other sides battling to finish in the top four.
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“As of today, we finally have certainty and we expect that the points that have been given back to us will remain with us forever,” he added.
