Juventus Chairman Resigns With Entire Board

The board of Juventus chaired by Andrea Agnelli, has resigned “in the best interest of the company,” the Italian Serie A football team said.

The collective resignation occurred after Juventus financial statements received criticism from prosecutors and Italian market regulator Consob in recent months for alleged false accounting and market manipulation.

The company had denied any wrongdoing.

Juventus said it’s directors had discussed the issue at a meeting on Monday and concluded it would be best taken care by a new board, given “the relevance of the pending legal, technical as well as accounting matters.

It stated it would have to restate its financial statement for the fiscal year ending in June 2022.

The company, which is controlled by the Agnelli family’s holding company Exor, EXOR.AS, said it had asked CEO Maurizio Arrivabene to maintain his position and had appointed Maurizio Scanavino as general manager.

In a letter to Juventus staff, Andrea Agnelli described the company situation as “delicate.”

“When the team is not cohesive it becomes vulnerable and that can be fatal,” he wrote.

“This is when you need to keep calm and contain damages: the company is going through a delicate phase and we’re no longer cohesive. Better to quit all together, giving the chance to a new team to turn the game around,” he added.

Reuters/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma