Bringing the Game into Disrepute: Regulation & Politics

I have been following very carefully the developments in Scottish football, both, from my capacity as a fan and a sports lawyer. I have shared, here, several of my thoughts, at least on an academic level. Most of my readers have responded with constructive analysis and some of their thoughts deserve credit. The discussion is certainly helping all of us to understand these complicated and controversial issues under analysis.

One issue which also deserves academic analysis relates to the, rather, subjective offense of 'bringing the sport into disrepute.' It is an offense that has been consistently incorporated into the regulatory frameworks of sporting governing bodies over the years and it is based mostly on moral considerations, rather than any other real practical advantages. It is because of these moral considerations that its subjectivity is so great that makes the application of such an offense complicated and, most of the times, disproportionate to several of the sporting violations committed.

This offense can be found in the text of regulatory frameworks of the majority of sporting governing bodies. It certainly exists in the rules and regulations of UEFA. As stated above, it is consistently being used by governing bodies towards justification of the majority of the violations that could be found in their regulations. Its inception may appear easy to understand, but its application on several cases is extremely complicated, because its core is based on the subjective nature of morality. 

Having said that, I cannot but attempt to apply a presumption on the current developments in Scottish football. Local reports of today [http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/rangers/2012/05/12/rangers-in-crisis-sfa-considered-kicking-ibrox-club-out-for-offences-almost-as-bad-as-match-fixing-86908-23856330/] indicate that certain people knew, or ought to have known that several actions and transactions, in the matter of Rangers FC, could lead to possible breaches of the rules currently in place. It appears that there is a political war going on between Rangers FC and the Scottish Football Association and it is my view that we have not seen [or heard] everything yet. If the above report is true, all sorts of different ramifications could develop, both, for Rangers FC and the governing body itself.

In relation to the offense of 'bringing the sport into disrepute', UEFA has made it abundantly clear, over the years, that national federations must pay close attention to all situations that could give rise to the offense under analysis. Although a national federation may potentially find itself 'touching' upon this offense, UEFA may labour under great difficulty towards applying sanctions on one of its members. It is usually the case that, irrespective of the probity of the evidence, political considerations could determine the application of sanctions on national federations. Such sanctions may range from a simple fine to the more drastic one of banning the national team and individual clubs from participating in European competitions. 

The above considerations may appear to be remote possibilities, but possibilities are part of life and if one is not careful, such possibilities may become undesirable certainties. Public opinion is a powerful tool that could easily be manipulated by, carefully, driven media, who would not stop until severe damage has been effected.

Finally, those who could be severely affected, by a further development of this situation, are the fans. When the regulator does not follow its normative environment, or, in the worse possible scenario, neglects to apply such regulations with fairness and transparency, problems start to emerge and the fans resign to the view that the game is not fair. From my experience before the CAS, it is usually the sense of injustice that leads several Appellants towards expensive and complicated appeals before the highest court for sport in the world. Such sense of injustice derives from the incorrect and improper application of the regulatory framework and the enormous degree of politics that usually surrounds decision making at a national level.

For the good of Scottish football, I hope that logic, fairness, equality and justice could prevail. The stature and the history of a particular club must not prevail over the correct and proper application of the rules. Justice and convenience are sometimes at odds; but in this troubled area of football, where the regulators have to make a decision, they speak with a single voice...

Dr. Gregory Ioannidis

12 May 2012