Cleary Gottlieb successfully represented Football Club Internazionale Milano (Inter) in its dispute in Italian Supreme Court against Juventus, with a judgment issued on December 13, 2018, in which the Joint Chambers of the Supreme Court (the highest judicial body in Italy) entirely dismissed the appeal brought by Juventus in connection with the 2005-2006 Italian Serie A League.
Juventus had sought to revoke the 2006 Scudetto, the highest award in Italian football league competitions, from Inter. The Court of Appeal of Rome had already dismissed Juventus’ claims in 2016 for lack of jurisdiction of Italian courts.
The Italian Supreme Court irrevocably held that Italian courts cannot rule on “legal positions that are relevant to the sport system only,” such as the assignment and revocation of the Scudetto. On the same controversy, Juventus had brought a claim for more than €400 million before Italian administrative courts, which was also dismissed in 2016.
The judgment of the Italian Supreme Court, which came after a complex proceeding and a public hearing held on September 25, 2018, should put an end to a dispute that arose more than a decade ago.