Serie B duo against Juve ‘discount’

Napoli and Genoa have hit out at the possibility of seeing Serie B promotion rivals Juventus having their 17-point punishment reduced this week.

The Old Lady will appear in front of the Italian Olympic Committee’s Court of Arbitration on Wednesday where reports insist they will receive a discount on the points they were docked after this summer's Calciopoli scandal.

Yet two of their present Second Division rivals have insisted that they see no reason why Juventus, who already had an initial 30-point penalty cut, should be given another helping hand.

“I don’t understand all of this goodness when it comes to the continual talk of a discount for Juventus,” said Napoli chief Aurelio De Laurentis. “It may be because I’m new to this environment, but I firmly believe that whoever has done wrong should pay the penalty. I see no reason why the judges should reconsider a verdict which has already been served, especially after the season has already started and teams don’t have an opportunity to reinforce themselves.”

De Laurentis also questioned whether the Turin giants really needed a fresh boost after dropping just two points from their first five games. “With such a march they will finish at the top of the League anyway,” he added.

Genoa President Enrico Preziosi mirrored the views of his colleague and is hoping Juve’s handicap will stay intact.

“There have already been two grades of verdicts, another one would not legitimise the sporting justice system,” said the fiery President.

“I feel sorry for Juventus who have been put in a Division which isn’t theirs, but that is a product of the sporting tribunals. We can’t forget that the first verdict was changed in a consistent manner, doing that again would have no sense. The season has already started and it isn’t right to change a verdict, if that happened then it would leave everyone perplexed.”

Talk in Italy suggests that Juventus could see their minus 17 come down to between minus 10 and minus seven. From the five games they've played so far, the Bianconeri have already picked up 13 points.