Reminiscently to every other weekend, football fans all over the globe are looking forward to watch their favorite team in action with their fingers crossed for another three points… well, except those of us who are plagued with the curse of supporting a certain black and white club.

As Juventus fans, we only want to celebrate our wins and a grief our losses while blaming the manager for every problem in our life (which is an unwritten rule for fans everywhere). But apparently, this is too much to ask for this wretched lot. Instead, we’re destined to keep one eye on the pitch and another on the court room.

Last Friday, all of us agreed that the defeat at the Maradona was both humiliating and calamitous. But unbeknownst to Juventus fans, the following Friday had even graver  news in store

The court of appeal (which had previously acquitted the club) decided to accept the prosecutor’s request to reopen the capital gains case, while rocking Juventus with an immense blow in the form of 15 point-deduction with immediate effect, reminding all of us that there are more damaging things in the world than Max Allegri’s stagnant tactics and Alex Sandro’s defensive howlers.

So what should be make of this severe punishment? Is it truly justified? or just another shady episode in the country’s crooked legal system?

To be fair, our club has conducted some bizarre dealing on the market under the tutelage of former sporting director Fabio Paratici. For instance, we all knew that Juventus and Barcelona both inflated the values of Miralem Pjanic and Arthur Melo amidst the controversial exchange deal. The same can be said for other swaps, involving the likes of Nicolò Rovella and others.

But as they say, it takes two to tango. So how is it possible for the court to punish Juventus so severely, while paying no heed for the other clubs who took part in the same operations?!

And what about others like Napoli? The Partenopei are currently leading the table partially thanks to Victor Osimhen’s heroics – the same player who they officially bought for 70 million euros from Lille back in 2020, while a large part of the fee consisted of four largely unknown players with obviously inflated values.

Here’s another baffling point: Personally, I’ve been in the legal field for more than ten years, and I’ve never heard of a punishment handed by the court which exceeds the prosecution’s request (the prosecutor only asked for a nine-point penalty, while the court decided to deduct 15 points).

Again, this isn’t to say that our former president Andrea Agnelli and his collaborators weren’t at fault, but it seems that consequences vary between one club and another in Italian football – and not for the first time.

This is why Agnelli’s acts are unforgivable. The former patron was around amidst the Calciopoli chaos (albeit more as a viewer rather than a protagonist), and he should have know better than offering his enemies the chance to deliver a low blow.

A conspiracy theory, one would say? Perhaps it is. But the patron’s spectacular fall from grace in such a swift and dramatic manner occurred shortly following his Super League misadventure.

UEFA and its president Aleksander Ceferin have been on a witch hunt against Juventus and their fellow rebels Barcelona and Real Madrid since April 2021. But in Agnelli’s case, it was evidently personal, as Ceferin was never going to forgive his former friend for his shocking “betrayal”.

Surrounded by enemies on the European scene, and isolated in the Italian peninsula, the writing was one the wall for Andrea, and his wicked dealings provided the perfect opening for his inescapable demise.

But sadly, it is us the fans who must once again pay dearly for our great atrocity: supporting a club damned by its own success as well as its missteps.