SPORTS DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS

Sport is all about fair competition, the so-called ‘level playing field’ and the unpredictability of the outcomes of sports events – or, at least, it should be!

Unfortunately, there are many examples of practices in sport where this is not the case, and which negate these fundamental tenets.

One such example is match-fixing, which has reared its ugly head, and, sadly, continues, from time to time, to do so, especially in football and cricket.

Also known as match manipulation, match-fixing may be defined as the unlawful influencing or alteration, directly or by an act or omission, of the course, or any other aspect of a football match or competition.

Match manipulation may be committed for a variety of reasons, including financial gains and sporting advantages.

Global, Regional and National Sports Governing Bodies have established disciplinary rules and bodies to protect their sports from match manipulation, unfair practices and other unsportsmanlike behaviour, which threaten the integrity of sport and bring it into disrepute, for example spitting or threatening behaviour at a referee or other match official.

Taking football, for example, FIFA, the World Governing Body of Association Football, has set up, pursuant to Article 52 of its Statutes, for the benefit of its member associations, clubs, players and other stakeholders, the Disciplinary, Appeal and Ethics Committees, to deal with a wide range of matters. These include breaches of competition regulations, protection of minors, third-party ownership, match-fixing and, of course, doping, which continues apace.

Breaches of sports disciplinary rules can lead to fines and other sporting sanctions, such as bans from competition, which, for professional sportspersons, depending upon the length of these bans, may seriously threaten their livelihoods.

For example, on 5 July 2024, Jude Bellingham received a suspended one-match ban and was fined €30,000 (around Sw. Frs. 28,000) by UEFA for a lewd gesture after scoring England’s equaliser against Slovakia, but was cleared to play against Switzerland in the EURO 2024 quarter-final.

For most sports, challenges against such disciplinary rulings may be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and beyond to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (TFS) in limited circumstances.

For further information about our professional services in relation to sports disciplinary proceedings and appeals to CAS and the TFS, please contact Noemi Delli Colli, who specialises in such cases at the national and international levels. Her email address is: ‘dellicolli@valloni.ch’.