Check the criminal and sports shield: super amnesty to save football

The corrective in a simple line establishes that in the event of a request for a deferred payment, not only will administrative sanctions and interest not be applied, but not even «criminal and sporting sanctions». It is then specified that «pending the conversion of the decree into law, economic, penal and sporting sanctions do not apply».

Thus, the preventive shield appears in the Aid Decree to prevent the intervention of the prosecutors, not only the federal one, which could raise objections with respect to possible regulatory violations that should materialize.

When does criminal prosecution take place?

In the event of non-payment of Irpef withholding taxes above €150,000 per year and of missing VAT payments above €250,000, in fact, the criminal conduct of managers and companies is triggered, according to the provisions of articles 10 bis and 10 ter of the decree ” handcuffs to tax evaders” (Legislative Decree 74/2000).

However, the world of professional football (the 100 Serie A, B and Lega Pro clubs) has repeatedly remarked that it received little help during the pandemic, also due to ideological prejudices (just under 1% of losses): a contribution to non-repayable fund for health care costs and tampons equal to 72 million (to be divided with the amateur realities) and the 200 million tax credit on sponsorships, limited to subjects with revenues within 15 million euros. More specifically, Serie A clubs were only able to rely on a few general measures, such as the option to suspend depreciation and to revalue, with a facilitated levy, the brand and other assets such as the player base, in accordance with the provisions of Decree August 2020.

A measure that has translated into an overall asset benefit of around one billion (avoiding recapitalizations of properties), but which will have the negative effect over time of a heavier depreciation.