The Bianconeri have officially mooted the match-fixing allegations regarding the penalty shot taken in the 2-0 win against the Seahorses.
Juventus FC have released an official statement on their club website regarding the penalty-kick taken by midfielder, Arturo Vidal, against Cesena.
Antonio Conte’s men defeated the Seahorses by 2-0 in the league game last month, but eyebrows were raised over the communication between a Cesena defender and Vidal before the penalty-kick in the second-half.
Television footages have been aired showing Cesena defender, Guillermo Rodriguez, signalling Vidal the direction to take his shot from the penalty. The Bianconeri midfielder went the same direction as Rodriguez had directed him
towards, but the opposition goalkeeper failed to stop the ball from going into the back of the net.
Reports in the media suggest that the event might have been pre-planned, and Vidal along with the two Cesena players are being accused of match-fixing.
However, the Lady Killers have backed their defensive-midfielder and assured that they will do everything to safeguard the image of their club and player.
The club’s official statement on their website read:
“The recent circulation of footage concerning the penalty struck and scored by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arturo-Vidal-c6760 in the Juventus v Cesena encounter, which according to some reveals a gesture of agreement between the Cesena player tasked with stopping
the penalty and the Bianconeri midfielder, constitutes a clumsy and underhand attempt at defamation. Juventus Football Club will act accordingly in order to protect the image of both the club and Arturo Vidal.”
Juventus have suffered from match-fixing charges in the past too, as they were accused of rigging games by bribing the on-field referees. Other teams involved in the scandal included AC Milan, Fiorentina, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lazio-c39775 and Reggina.
Juve were stripped off their 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles, the Turin giants were banned from the UEFA Champions League and were relegated to the second division, Serie B. Juve have earned their way back to the giants of Italian
top flight, and are hoping to evade the new allegations against their player.
The Turin giants atop the league standings after 18 matches played thus far.
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