Well, well, well. A story as old as time for the Old Lady of Italy. Juve president and new ECA head Andrea Agnelli has been suspended for quite some time for selling tickets to members of the Juve ultra with ties to the mafia. This coming from the club that allegedly use to kidnap referees before match's and gave them a lesson in Italian persuasion to make sure results went their way. Walking around the new Juve stadium, you can see references to past trophies and titles that were revoked due to previous scandals within the club. One trophy even appeared to be "mysteriously" absent from the wall with the bolts from the plaque still in the wall. Missing? Maybe. Stolen? Also maybe. This is a club steeped in tradition(s), winning and mobbing.
Now, I am not one to blame anyone that is facing the pressure of the Italian mafiosos. Even writing this blog has me on the edge of my seat. They are nothing to mess around with. They are the OGs of the mob business that's got levels on anything we may have seen in the States. Shit is really real. The questions is, as one of the shooting stars of the football world, being president of Juve, the ECA (a mob in its own right, kind of, maybe), and board member of UEFA, can someone even in your position turn down the advances of the ultras/the mob? It seems as if that is a HARD no. The mafiosos are pulling the strings in Italy, still to this day. Which for all of the terrible things they have done, is quite impressive. It's rare to see that type of longevity in sports these days. Kings true stay kings.
PS. If Juve doesn't come out on the pitch to their Champions League match on Wednesday to this, it would be a HUGE miss.
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