GYMNASTICS OFFICIAL WARNED AND FINED BY THE SWISS SPORTS TRIBUNAL
A Gymnastics official has been found guilty by the Swiss Sports Tribunal (TSS) of violating psychological integrity and has received a formal warning. He is required to pay a fine and cover the procedural costs.
Following several reports received by Swiss Sport Integrity (SSI) reporting service, a gymnastics official was alleged to have repeatedly humiliated individuals within the association, impugned their honour, and verbally abused them in public. SSI conducted a preliminary inquiry into potential violations of the Ethics Statutes for Swiss Sport by the individual in question and subsequently opened formal proceedings.
During the investigation, SSI concluded that, through repeated public attacks, the official had exceeded the bounds of permissible criticism regarding sports association officials and had harmed the honour of the individuals concerned through disparaging and offensive remarks. SSI then forwarded its investigation report and its recommendations for adjudication to the TSS.
In its ruling, the TSS found the gymnastics official guilty of violating Article 2.1.2 (psychological integrity, specifically through defamatory remarks) of the Ethics Statutes for Swiss Sport due to several personal, defamatory statements, and issued him a formal warning.
The TSS emphasised in its decision that, while officials in organised sports must be prepared to accept sharp and incisive criticism regarding their management—particularly within the context of internal opinion-forming and decision-making processes in clubs—the line is crossed when criticism no longer focuses primarily on conduct or management but instead targets the individual in an unnecessarily disparaging manner. In the present case, the remarks bore no objective connection to the association’s political debate but were intended to disparage the other party personally and deliberately undermine their position within the council.
The TSS imposed a fine of 800 francs on the official, taking into account both the violation and the preventive purpose of the sanction. In addition, procedural costs amounting to 1,000 francs were charged.
We act in such cases in Switzerland and further information is available from Dr Lucien Valloni by emailing him at valloni@valloni.ch.