Judge Dread
Fuoriclasse
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Interesting, there appears to be many (negative) similarities between Porto and Juventus, although I am sure that the situation in Italy is a lot worse. Calciopoli was just the tip of the iceberg, they have been cheating long before then and are still doing it to this day.
Even as far as back as the 1960's, the president of Juve was also the president of the Italian football organisation. In 1961, we were beating Juve at their own ground and would have won the scudetto, but their fans invaded the pitch and caused the game to be abandoned. Instead of letting the result stand, or even awarding us the victory, the Italian federation decided that the match should be replayed. It was a huge scandal and Inter fielded a team of youth players as protest, therefore losing the game 9-1 (our heaviest ever defeat) and the championship.
During the nineties, it became widespread knowledge that Juventus players were using banned substances to significantly enhance their physical structure, and no-one did anything about it. Only Zeman (then manager of Roma) stood up and said something. He was immediately silenced and virtually exiled from Italian football for many years. Indeed, proof of the doping eventually went to court some years later as it turned out but there is a ridiculous law in Italy called "prescrizione", which means that you cannot be punished for something (even if found guilty) after a certain amount of time has passed.
Since Calciopoli, Juventus have learned from their mistakes and operating on larger scale, but are now much more careful than before. Objectively speaking, they probably deserved to win many of their titles anyway, but this is not enough for them. They want to control Italian football, the federation and the media. Half the clubs in Serie A field reserves against them in return for various transfer operations and/or rewarded with safety from relegation. The referees' association is sponsored by a subsidiary of the Fiat corporation and you never see decisions against them, unless it is a match of no importance (usually at the end of the season, just to balance things out a bit).
Even their main rivals Roma and Napoli are happy to let them win, because they are assured Champions League places on a regular basis. Mourinho left us in 2010 because he knew this would happen.
Even as far as back as the 1960's, the president of Juve was also the president of the Italian football organisation. In 1961, we were beating Juve at their own ground and would have won the scudetto, but their fans invaded the pitch and caused the game to be abandoned. Instead of letting the result stand, or even awarding us the victory, the Italian federation decided that the match should be replayed. It was a huge scandal and Inter fielded a team of youth players as protest, therefore losing the game 9-1 (our heaviest ever defeat) and the championship.
During the nineties, it became widespread knowledge that Juventus players were using banned substances to significantly enhance their physical structure, and no-one did anything about it. Only Zeman (then manager of Roma) stood up and said something. He was immediately silenced and virtually exiled from Italian football for many years. Indeed, proof of the doping eventually went to court some years later as it turned out but there is a ridiculous law in Italy called "prescrizione", which means that you cannot be punished for something (even if found guilty) after a certain amount of time has passed.
Since Calciopoli, Juventus have learned from their mistakes and operating on larger scale, but are now much more careful than before. Objectively speaking, they probably deserved to win many of their titles anyway, but this is not enough for them. They want to control Italian football, the federation and the media. Half the clubs in Serie A field reserves against them in return for various transfer operations and/or rewarded with safety from relegation. The referees' association is sponsored by a subsidiary of the Fiat corporation and you never see decisions against them, unless it is a match of no importance (usually at the end of the season, just to balance things out a bit).
Even their main rivals Roma and Napoli are happy to let them win, because they are assured Champions League places on a regular basis. Mourinho left us in 2010 because he knew this would happen.
