Juventus director under investigation for allegedly helping Luis Suarez cheat Italian citizenship exam
Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici is facing criminal investigation following allegations of malpractice over Luis Suarez's Italian citizenship examination in September.
The Bianconeri were linked with a move for the Uruguay international after he was deemed surplus to requirements at Barcelona.
However, a move for Suarez would have seen Juventus surpass their allowed non-EU players quota in their squad, so they arranged for him to secure Italian citizenship.
The exam was held at the University for Foreigners in Perugia. The city's finance police revealed that they had been monitoring the university when new suspicions arose surrounding Suarez's case.
The Public Prosecutor's office in Perugia announced that they were looking at claims that marks for Suarez's test might have been pre-arranged.
If the former Barcelona man had passed, he would have acquired Italian citizenship, which would have seen Juventus maintain their non-EU quota in the squad.
Ultimately, the Serie A champions cooled their interest in Luis Suarez and instead signed Alvaro Morata on loan from Atletico Madrid, with Suarez replacing him at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The 33-year-old has been in fine form for Diego Simeone's side, scoring five goals and providing one assist from six La Liga games before he had to enter self-isolation after contracting COVID-19.
Juventus also got a fair deal with Morata as the Spain international has contributed nine goals and four assists from 12 games in all competitions since his return to Turin.
Juventus deny allegations of malpractice
Juventus on Friday released a statement confirming that Paratici is facing investigation for the incident, while also maintaining that he conducted himself properly and would be cleared.
The statement read:
"Juventus Football Club confirms that today Fabio Paratici has been notified of information regarding the guarantee and the right of defence. The crime alleged by the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Perugia is exclusively Article 371 bis of the Criminal Code. The club strongly reiterates the correctness of Paratici's work and is confident that the ongoing investigations will help clarify his position within a reasonable time."
Article 371 is titled 'False information to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.'
Juventus will be hoping to put their off-field issues behind them when they host Torino in the Turin derby and a victory in the game would put them back on track in their quest to retain their Serie A title.