10 Reasons Why Juventus Are Not to Blame for the Controversy in Serie A
The issue of match-fixing in Italian football continues to be a highly sensitive one in the wake of the Calciopoli scandal of 2006.
The scandal involved several clubs, but Juventus were the harshest punished, the peninsula's most popular team.
After a forced relegation and a year spent in Serie B, the Old Lady of Italian football spent a number of years fighting to become a major force once more.
in 2014, Juventus are well and truly a force in Italian football once more, having won three consecutive league titles.
Following a controversial 3-2 win over the previously undefeated Roma in Round 6, in which several key refereeing decisions went the Bianconeri's way, Francesco Totti raised the spectre of match-fixing once more.
The Roma captain made the following comments to Sky Italia (via Joe Ridge of the Daily Mail):
"Juventus ought to have their own league, as by hook or by crook they always win.
Are we back to the same doubts? I am not the only one saying this, as these are things everyone in Italy should discuss.
With Juventus when there is any doubt whatsoever, it’s always a penalty.
I have to stop now, as if I keep talking then I’ll get suspended.
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Totti was right to be angry as Roma appeared to be very harshly done in by being in the top-of-the-table clash, but his insinuations that there was something untoward going on were uncalled for.
Here are 10 reasons why Juventus are not to be blamed for the controversy.
They Would Never Dare Try It Again
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The fallout from Calciopoli caused years of despair for everyone involved with Juventus.
Not only were they punished on the pitch, but the reputation of the club also suffered immensely.
Even when they fought their way back to Serie A, it took years for the side to return to the forefront of Italian football.
To risk getting involved in another controversy such a short time later would be on the verge of madness.
Referees Themselves Would Not Take the Risk
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Not only would it be foolhardy for Juventus to get involved with any bribing of match officials, it would be ludicrous for referees themselves to engage in any dodgy dealings.
Having seen how deep the probing from prosecutors went back in 2006, there is no way a referee currently plying his trade in Serie A would think it a good idea to get involved with any such activities in 2014.
Phone records and other forms of communication are easily accessed by law enforcement agencies, as Calciopoli showed, so nobody in their right mind would put themselves at risk nowadays.
The Players Themselves Cannot Be Held Responsible in Any Case
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Even during Calciopoli, there was never any suggestion that the players themselves had any involvement.
It was understandable, then, that squad members from that era are still vehement that they won those Scudetti on the pitch.
When Totti or others infer that the current Juventus side are receiving too many favours, they are in no way implying that the team members themselves have anything to do with it.
Referees Make Mistakes All the Time
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As the old adage goes, referees are human too. Like players, they make mistakes sometimes.
Just because a ref gets a decision wrong does not mean there was ill intent behind it or that he was being influenced by outside forces.
Often fans focus on the calls that went against their own team but conveniently forget those that fell their way. It's one of the reasons there are such passionate debates after each round of action.
Just because supporters (or players, in Totti's case) from other clubs think Juventus get all the decisions going their way, it doesn't mean that is necessarily the case.
Roma Were Awarded a Penalty in the Game in Question
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One pertinent argument against biased refereeing in the recent Juventus-Roma clash was that Roma themselves were awarded a penalty in the first half.
The penalty was duly converted by Totti to make the score 1-1. Juan Iturbe then found the net to give Roma the advantage, before a second Carlos Tevez penalty made it 2-2 and Leonardo Bonucci scored the winner for the Bianconeri late in the game.
If the referee had been intent on Juve winning the match, he surely wouldn't have made his own task more difficult by giving Roma the leg up of a first-half spot-kick.
In General, the Bigger the Team, the More Decisions Go Their Way
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Ask many fans in England who referees favour and anyone who is not a Red Devils fan will likely mention Manchester United.
Similarly, supporters of anyone, bar Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, will tell you those teams receive many advantages from match officials. The same goes with Boca Juniors and River Plate in Argentina.
This could in part be because the giant clubs are the ones opposition supporters most love to hate.
But it may also be based on an unconscious favouritism that match officials show the bigger sides.
When it comes to making split-second decisions, perhaps there is something in the referees' minds that tell them to make the call that will cause them the least amount of hassle in the aftermath of the game.
Clubs with the most supporters also tend to have the most cheerleaders in the media. A 50-50 call that goes against a Bayern Munich or a Juventus is always going to be greeted with an uproar during the week, and that could be something which affects the way those calls are handled, even if it is not intentional.
Juventus Are a Different Club Now That Moggi Has Gone
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The main protagonist of the Calciopoli scandal was former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi.
There was a great deal of evidence against Moggi collected by prosecutors, and he was on the receiving end of a lifetime ban from football.
As a result, he was obviously excluded from any involvement with the Bianconeri from that point onward and does not have any influence over Italian football at present.
Others Are Quick to See Controversies Whenever Juventus Are Involved
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It is understandable that Juventus are often the first club accused of nefarious activities by others when debatable incidents occur on the pitch.
Juve's sporting director, Giuseppe Marotta, made that very point following Totti's comments:
"I have great respect for Totti as a player. It’s understandable that he’s upset about the result but what he said was unacceptable.
In the past Juve have had to bear the brunt for others' mistakes, but when the team has won it has won legitimately and deservingly from a footballing point of view.
Every year Juventus are accused of being favoured in dubious or unclear situations, but I believe that these decisions even themselves out over the course of a season.
When we won the penalty it reminded me of the Juventus v Roma match that was played at the Olimpico in Turin. That year Roma got the decision and this year it was our turn to get a penalty.
Juventus were promoted back to Serie A in 2007 and won their third successive title this year.
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Italians Love a Good Conspiracy
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There is a word in Italian, "dietrologia," which describes the tendency of Italians to always search for hidden meanings and conspiracies behind day-to-day goings-on.
Though paranoia does not always exist without reason, the fact that such a word exists in the language indicates that the good people of the peninsula are always on the lookout for connivance, even when perhaps it does not exist.
Juventus Are Simply the Strongest Team in Italy at Present
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Despite all the complaints from other Serie A sides about favouritism, it is very hard to argue that Juventus have not been the strongest team in Italy over the past few years.
Napoli, Roma and Milan have all been competitive since Juve's reign at the top started, but none can claim to have had such a powerful side with the squad depth of the Bianconeri.
Other Serie A outfits would dream of having the likes of Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez and Paul Pogba on their books.
It is not that difficult to understand, then, how Antonio Conte's side won three titles in a row and how Massimiliano Allegri's team have a perfect record after six games this campaign.
Conspiracy theories are not always needed to explain one side's dominance over the rest of the competition. Sometimes one side is just better than the rest.
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