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By Joe Apu
Victory smiles played on the lips of no less than 11 clubs and 59 individuals in the trial over-inflated transfer fees to boost capital gains, including Juventus, Napoli, Genoa and Sampdoria, have been cleared and it includes Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen.
In June 2021, an investigation was launched and L’Equipe reported that the French authorities are investigating Victor Osimhen’s €81m move from Lille to Napoli.
There were many question marks over the deal even at the time when it was completed over the summer.
Gerard Lopez had been in charge of the Ligue 1 club at the time, but has since moved on.
It was seemingly the new owners who arrived in December and raised a few doubts over the accounting for transfers.
Among them, the Osimhen sale to Napoli was credited at €81.3m, yet L’Equipe claims it only provided LOSC with under €10m in profit.
However in a twist according to football-italia.net, the prosecutors had been hoping to get a verdict by mid-May, before the end of the season, with likely only fines rather than docked points or even relegation.
In a shock turning point, all of those who were charged have been cleared in the first trial.
Among the transfers under the spotlight were Victor Osimhen to Napoli and the Arthur Melo-Miralem Pjanic exchange with Barcelona.
The 11 clubs deferred to the disciplinary commission were Juventus, Napoli, Sampdoria, Genoa, Empoli, Pro Vercelli, Parma, Pisa, Chievo, Novara and Pescara.
The FIGC Prosecutor had tried to charge 59 directors, demanding a year-long ban for Juventus President Andrea Agnelli and Napoli chief Aurelio De Laurentiis.
