Serie A | Juventus hit by 10-point penalty for false accounting, drops out of Champions League spots

Juventus lost to Empoli 4-1 hours after the Serie A team was hit by a new 10-point penalty that pushed the team to 7th in the standings, out of the Champions League places

Juventus was hit with a fresh 10-point penalty, hampering its chances of qualifying for next year's Champions League.

The latest punishment for false accounting dropped Juventus from second spot in Serie A to seventh.

It left the Bianconeri five points behind AC Milan, which moved into fourth place in Serie A and the final qualifying spot for the Champions League.

Juve's chances of qualifying for Europe's premier club competition would still have been in its own hands, as it plays Milan next weekend. But — shortly after the sentence — Massimiliano Allegri's team lost at Empoli 4-1.

There are two rounds remaining.

Juventus said in a statement that it could appeal the penalty, dragging the situation out until after the end of the season.

“What was established by the fifth instance of judgment in this matter, which began more than a year ago, arouses great bitterness in the club and in its millions of supporters who, in the absence of clear rules, find themselves extremely penalized with the application of sanctions that do not seem to take into account the principle of proportionality,” Juventus added.