Juventus fined over fans' behaviour during Mazzola tribute

Before every fixture of Serie A's fifth round, a minute of silence was held for Sandro Mazzola, the emblematic Inter Milan and Italy player who died on Saturday at the age of 83. According to RMC Sport, before Juventus' home match against Atalanta, part of the Juve support turned their backs to the pitch and started chanting during the tribute.

Mazzola spent his entire playing career at Inter Milan, a club fiercely despised by the Turin ultras — the rivalry sat at the heart of the incident. For these facts, the Italian football federation fined the club on the Tuesday following the match.

The federation set the fine at 10,000 euros. RMC Sport reports that the sanction was mitigated by the club's rapid official condemnation of the behaviour and by the fact that the rest of the crowd dissociated itself from it.

Juventus had reacted before the match even ended, stating that no rivalry can justify disrespect during a minute of silence. Former internationals such as Marco Tardelli also publicly criticised the fans' attitude. According to RMC Sport, the club had faced a fine of up to 50,000 euros, or even a match behind closed doors.

The principle behind this case is strict club liability: an association or a club can be sanctioned for the misconduct of its supporters, including disorder observed inside or around the stadium. The chapter of the FIFA Disciplinary Code on order and discipline lists disruption during national anthems and, more broadly, any lack of order or discipline in and around the stadium among the relevant offences.

This liability exists regardless of the club's own intentions or of the words it publishes. What the club says and does afterwards does not erase the offence — but it can weigh on the size of the penalty, as this case shows.

Against a legal entity such as a club, the FIFA Disciplinary Code allows measures well beyond a fine: playing behind closed doors, playing with a limited number of spectators, a ban from a specific stadium, a points deduction, or the implementation of a prevention programme, among others. That is why the potential exposure here reportedly reached a closed-doors game.

Landing on a 10,000-euro fine rather than a stadium closure illustrates how the disciplinary body weighs mitigating factors — here, the swift public dissociation of the club — when choosing among the available measures.

Retain the core rule: a club is objectively responsible for the conduct of its supporters and can be sanctioned even for incidents during tributes and anthems, not only for violence or racism. The offence exists independently of the club's intent.

Note too that the disciplinary body has a graduated menu of measures for a legal entity — fine, closed doors, limited attendance, stadium ban, points deduction — and that a club's rapid, genuine dissociation from its fans is a recognised mitigating factor that can lower the sanction.