Four University officials involved in Luis Suarez’s citizenship test scandal are SUSPENDED as investigation into whether Juventus tried to cheat the system in order to sign the striker continues
- Luis Suarez was accused of cheating in his Italian residency language exam
- Suarez had to pass the exam in September to help a move to Juventus
- The Uruguayan forward took the language test at the University of Perugia
- Perugia’s prosecuting office has suspended four university officials in the case
Perugia’s prosecuting office has suspended four university officials over alleged irregularities in Luis Suarez’s citizenship test for his proposed move to Juventus earlier this year.
The Uruguayan striker took a ‘B1’ Italian language test in September in order to gain residency, meaning Juventus did not have too many non-EU players in their squad, but the 33-year-old has been accused of cheating in the exam.
Suarez took the test at the University of Perugia and it was revealed on Friday that the institution’s Rector Giuliana Grego, chief executive Simone Olivieri, Suarez’s Italian professor Stefania Spina and fellow tutor Lorenzo Rocca have been suspended amid an ongoing investigation.
Four university staff have been suspended amid Luis Suarez’s (above) language test scandal
A statement from the prosecuting office stated that the suspension surrounded ‘the offence of disclosure of professional secrecy aimed at undue profit and multiple ideological falsehoods in public acts.’
The prosecuting office also claimed that Juventus were involved ‘even at the highest institutional levels of initiating the acceleration of the identification of Luis Suarez’s citizenship test’.
The office also maintained that investigations into the scandal are still ongoing, but that they were looking at other potential involvements from outside the university, including the Serie A champions.
The Perugia office confirmed that ‘the contents of the test had been communicated in advance to the player, in order to arrive at a predetermined outcome and examination score to meet the requests that had been made by Juventus with the aim of achieving a positive image return, both personal and for the University’.
Suarez is able to qualify for residency due to his Italian wife but it transpired that the footballer spoke very little Italian in order to pass the language test.
More to follow.