after the anti-Juve videos, the prosecutor decides whether to step aside from the Corriere.it investigation

At this rate, jokes a black and white fan on Twitter, the public prosecutor Ciro Santoriello risks finding himself in a series of Netflix: yesterday, another video popped up on social media in which, again during a specialist conference, the magistrate makes a joke about Juve. Formulating the wish not to be called to speak on a certain topic, he defines it as “a wish that is absolutely unattainable, like, for example, Juventus winning the Champions Cup”. It is 20 June 2019, two years before the start of the investigation into the accounts of the Juventus club, which Santoriello is coordinating together with the adjunct Marco Gianoglio and to the colleague Mario Bendoni, but the words set social media on fire again. And, it goes without saying, the controversy, which flared up two days ago with images from another conference, with digressions on football: I am an «anti-Juventino» prosecutor and «I hate Juve». Joke said when speaking of another investigation into the club’s financial statements (2015 and 2016) for which she had asked to be closed. In short, and we would miss her: cheering is one thing, work is another.

The reactions in the Prosecutor’s Office

“But he was clearly joking, like the ironic and intelligent person he is”, defends him at the courthouse in Turin, a Juventus pasdaran lawyer. Except that words in public have a different effect than teasing in front of the coffee machine. After all, it is not always possible to speak of “Liability of entities for crimes: problems and practices”, the latest volume published by the magistrate for Giuffre. A question of opportunity, which is the gist of some colleagues’ comments. After the giant Tapir parked outside the courthouse the other night, yesterday Santoriello’s day went by quietly, as he does: a couple of hearings and a meeting with the Ros carabinieri, for an anti-terrorism investigation.

The decision on the investigation

However, there will be days of calm reflection, to possibly decide whether to return the investigation proxy to the Chief Prosecutor Anna Maria Loreto: and, in the case, it is not certain that it will be accepted, given the esteem for the professional rigor and preparation of the deputy attorney. By eye, a matter more of common sense than of law, scrutinized the climate that is boiling on the horizon, around the criminal investigation and the sporting proceeding. Even if, patiently dredging the web as many militant fans do now, some comments out of place in the previous years can be found by anyone, observes another magistrate. If the controversy has no impact on the investigation – the recusal of a pm is not possible — the defense could raise the legitimate suspicion, to bring the proceedings to Milan. Headquarters already indicated in the appeal (granted) for territorial jurisdiction, rooted in the crime of market manipulation. A decision, whether to continue or not, which will be taken in the next few days and which risks leaving only two pm for the preliminary hearing, scheduled for March 27th.