Rome Court Rejects Juventus Appeal to Revoke 2006 Championship Title

In its judgment issued on November 22, 2106, the Court of Appeal of Rome rejected Juventus’ appeal to revoke the championship title won by Inter Football Club at the end of the 2005-2006 soccer championship.

Juventus had previously asked the Court of Appeal to annul the arbitration award of the National Sports Arbitral Tribunal. On November 15, 2011, the Arbitral Tribunal had ruled that it could not decide on the revocation of the championship title.

The Court of Appeal of Rome pointed out that the power to rule on this matter falls within the exclusive competence of the sports institutions according to the “principle of autonomy of legal systems.” The court stated that the judges of the state cannot “rule on areas that are in the exclusive competence of the sports justice system such as the assignment of the championship titles, the execution of the regulatory rules of the sporting activities and the revocation of the acts of the Italian Football Federation.”

“If this were not the case,” the court added, “an undue interference would result, which is against the above-mentioned principle of autonomy of legal systems.”

Earlier in 2016, the Regional Administrative Tribunal of Rome rejected a compensation request submitted by Juventus for more than €400 million in the same dispute.

The judgment of the Court of Appeal of Rome came after a four-year proceeding and could put an end to a dispute that arose more than six years ago.