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Massimiliano Allegri blasts timing of 10-point Serie A penalty after Juventus lose 4-1 at Empoli – and pledges to stay on as manager.
Despite his criticism of the 10-point penalty given to Juventus, Massimiliano Allegri has pledged to continue as manager.
After receiving punishment for alleged “financial irregularities,” the Bianconeri now seem set to finish outside of the top four in Serie A, missing out on Champions League participation in the process.
Juve, who had earlier appealed against a 15-point punishment, learned of their destiny just before the start of Monday’s game against Empoli, which they would ultimately lose 4-1. Allegri lashed out at the Turin authorities for how they handled the sad situation.
Allegri told DAZN when asked about the punishment and whether it could impact his future at the Allianz Stadium: “We need to talk to the club and see where we are playing. I don’t know if they will even allow us to play in the Europa League, we’ll have to wait and see. Obviously, if you are out of all competition, you have to make one plan. We cannot say that Juventus will immediately get back to winning next season, but the important thing is to all be aligned during difficulties.
“It would be cowardly for me to abandon Juventus at this moment. I am disappointed tonight because it was an opportunity, but I also cannot reproach the team for anything, because it has been a continual chasing down of situations. I want to point out one thing: Juventus are second in the table, we earned that on the field. We accept everything, but I really hope this just gets sorted out once and for all. It’s a steady drip, drip, drip, let them just decide where they want Juventus to be, tell us and resolve the problem. It is a lack of respect towards people who are working, players and coaches. I am not telling them what to decide, I just ask them to decide once and for all. It’s incredible. Just incredible. Enough is enough.”
Juve now sits seventh in Serie A, outside of the slots needed to qualify for Europe, but Allegri wants to see the team stand up again and respond positively to those who have been trying to bring them down. He added: “Juventus have always got back on our feet, we need to be clear-headed. Now we can only hope that we can begin the next season knowing what the situation is.
I don’t know how we reached this point, because I might seem impervious to everything, but it has been just torture. I wish they’d have just told us two months ago what the penalty was and let us know if we were going to be stabbed or poisoned, because at least we’d know.”
Juventus still has two matches to play in the current season, against AC Milan and Udinese, and will probably need to change their preparations for the summer transfer window as they prepare for the possibility that they won’t be playing any continental football in 2023–24.