Juventus president Andrea Agnelli faces possible ban over ticket sales

The Italian football federation was expected to make a ruling in the case late Friday, 10 days after Andrea Agnelli was elected to chair the 220-member European Club Association.

By: AP | Rome | Published:September 15, 2017 4:16 pm
Juventus, Andrea Agnelli, European Club Association, Stefano merulla Andrea Agnelli has been a non-voting member of UEFA’s executive committee since 2015. (Source: AP)

Juventus president Andrea Agnelli is facing a possible ban over an allegedly illicit relationship with hard-core ‘ultra’ fans that encouraged ticket scalping, including meetings with a suspected mobster.

The Italian football federation was expected to make a ruling in the case late Friday, 10 days after Agnelli was elected to chair the 220-member European Club Association. Agnelli allegedly authorized the sale of season passes and other tickets above the permitted limit.

He has acknowledged meeting with Rocco Dominello, an ‘ultra’ fan linked to the Calabrian `ndrangheta crime mob who has since been sentenced to nearly eight years in prison for scalping.

But Agnelli said the meetings came only with large numbers of other fans at celebratory occasions and that the club never intended to engage in illegal activity. If Agnelli is banned for more than one year, he will have to wait a decade before he can become Juventus’ president again.

Juventus ticketing director Stefano Merulla, Juventus security director Alessandro D’Angelo and the club’s former marketing director, Francesco Calvo, are also due to be judged in the case.

The alleged charges are violations of sporting integrity and illicit relations with fans. The 41-year-old Agnelli has led Juventus, the club his family has owned for nearly a century, since 2010.

Agnelli has also been a non-voting member of UEFA’s executive committee since 2015. He is slated to receive full voting rights on Wednesday at a UEFA special congress in Geneva.

Dominello’s father, Saverio Dominello, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a court in Turin in June for his role in the scalping case.

Anti-mafia prosecutors alleged that the `ndrangheta were involved in scalping among Juventus ultra fans for at least 15 years, guaranteeing order in the stadium in exchange for open ticket access. Juventus has denied any wrongdoing.