Juventus' hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League were dealt a hammer blow on Monday, even before they suffered a damaging 4-1 loss to Empoli.
The Italian Football Federation's (FIGC) appeals court announced a 10-point deduction for the Turin giants 15 minutes before they took to the field at Stadio Carlo Castellani.
The points deduction, following a revision of their initial 15-point penalty over illicit transfer activity, saw Juventus drop down to seventh in Serie A on 59 points and in danger of missing out on a top-four finish and a potential return to the lucrative Champions League.
But can things get any worse for Juventus? The answer is yes.
Missing out on the Champions League
Riding high in second place Monday morning, although a hefty 18 points behind champions Napoli, the points deduction saw Juve drop five places. It leaves Max Allegri's side five points behind AC Milan – their next opponents this Sunday – in fourth, before they close out their campaign away to Udinese on June 4.
Juve need to win both games to have any hope of finishing fourth, and hope Milan also lose their final match against Verona.
Even that may not be enough with fifth-placed Atalanta (61 points) and sixth-placed Roma (60 points) also in the hunt. Roma can also qualify for the Champions League if they win next month's Europa League final against Sevilla.
A run to this season's Europa League semi-finals – Juventus were beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Sevilla – offered proof of the record 36-time Italian champions' pedigree on the continent. Missing out on another season of Champions League football, though, would be a huge blow to the two-time European Cup winners.
Uefa sanctions
Being found guilty of illicit transfer activity by the Italian league is likely to pave the way for further punishment by European football's governing body.
In September 2022, Uefa fined Juventus €3.5 million for Financial Fair Play violations, with another €19.5m fine to be issued if they failed to stick to the agreements signed.
These agreements are now under scrutiny by Uefa as the balance sheets provided to them by Juventus were the same ones the FIGC appeals court based their 10-point punishment on.
Should Juventus qualify for any Uefa competition next season, they could, potentially, be excluded.
Players leaving
Failure to qualify for the Champions League would see Juventus miss out on at least €50 million. Missing out on European football altogether would likely have several prominent players questioning their futures with the OId Lady.
Juve already know they will no longer be able to call on the totemic Leonardo Bonucci, the most gnarled of gnarled Italian defenders, following his decision to retire at the end of the season.
Midfielders Manuel Locatelli and Leandro Paredes are out of contact in June, while Adrien Rabiot, whose contract also expires this summer, is a long-term target of Manchester United.
Federico Chiesa is also the subject of interest from the likes of Liverpool and Inter Milan. The latter will contest next month's Champions League final against Manchester City.
Regardless of the outcome of that final in Turkey, Inter can secure a return to Europe's top table next season if they can beat Fiorentina or Atalanta in their remaining Serie A fixtures. A fate that looks increasingly beyond Juve.
if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
UAE's final round of matches
- Sep 1, 2016 Beat Japan 2-1 (away)
- Sep 6, 2016 Lost to Australia 1-0 (home)
- Oct 6, 2016 Beat Thailand 3-1 (home)
- Oct 11, 2016 Lost to Saudi Arabia 3-0 (away)
- Nov 15, 2016 Beat Iraq 2-0 (home)
- Mar 23, 2017 Lost to Japan 2-0 (home)
- Mar 28, 2017 Lost to Australia 2-0 (away)
- June 13, 2017 Drew 1-1 with Thailand (away)
- Aug 29, 2017 v Saudi Arabia (home)
- Sep 5, 2017 v Iraq (away)
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
