Juventus points deduction: Manager Massimiliano Allegri wants players to regroup

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has urged his team to “do their duty” on the pitch after Friday’s points deduction by Italy’s football federation (FIGC).

The Serie A giants were accused of fixing their balance sheets by artificial gains from club transfers.

It drops them down from third to 10th place in the table.

Juventus have denied any wrongdoing and confirmed that they will appeal against the decision to the Sport Guarantee Board of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).

“We have to regroup and think only of matters on the pitch,” said Allegri before Sunday’s Serie A match at home to fifth-placed Atalanta.

“We don’t have to think about starting again. The legal proceedings concern the company and there will be an appeal. The standings say that at the moment we have 22 points and we have to try to earn results and make up positions.

“We must continue to do our duty because the sentence is in two months’ time and we must have no regrets when the verdict comes.”

The club’s board of directors, including former president Andrea Agnelli and vice-president Pavel Nedved, resigned in November.

The FIGC’s sanction is tougher than the nine-point deduction prosecutors had requested.

Allegri added that not all was lost for Juventus, who face French club Nantes in a two-legged Europa League play-off next month for a place in the last 16 and will meet Lazio in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals on 2 February.

“I have learned that all situations must be transformed into opportunities,” he added.

“We have the Europa League, we have the Coppa Italia and we have 60 league points to play for.

“I’m convinced the players will do everything to get the most out of the situation. We face a challenge and maybe we will be able to do something extraordinary. In football anything is possible.”

A total of 11 former and current Juventus executives have received sanctions, including a 24-month ban for Agnelli and Allegri expressed his sympathy for him.

“In addition to the professional aspect, I am very sorry on a personal level for the disqualification of Andrea Agnelli,” he said.