ANTI-BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION POLICIES IN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS GOVERNING BODIES
Introduction
Research on
corruption in sport frequently focuses on only one or two aspects of the
problem without looking at all of them. The Sport Doping Market, a fundamental
study by Paoli and Donati, examines a serious topic over an extended period of
time and offers the first description of this market's characteristics. Doping
is simply one sort of sports corruption, though. Match-fixing is another kind.
In order to combat the issue of gambling-related match-fixing, the
international government organisation Interpol has partnered closely with
athletic organisations like FIFA in recent years. The focus of this
public-private cooperation, which includes contributions from both sectors, is
on the specific issue of how illicit gambling affects the integrity of sport.
It's challenging to
define corruption in sports. This comes as a result of how difficult it is to
define corruption in the first place. The common definitions of corruption
frequently have the limitations of the definer. For instance, the now-standard
definition of corruption for political scientists is behavior which deviates
from the formal duties of a public role because of personal regarding monetary
or status gains; or violates rules against the exercise of certain types of
personal regarding influence." This definition was developed from the
viewpoint of a political scientist who was considering development. However,
this definition leaves room for "noble cause" corruption, in which
authority is usurped in the interest of the public good rather than individual
gain.
Global political
and economic activity is involved in modern sport, notably in the competition
to host important competitions like the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, and
other international competitions. Recent bid processes turned the conventional
wisdom about corruption on its head: when public officials bribe private
players without the possibility of the public official's own personal benefit.
Sport corruption is
the departure from the public's expectation that sport would be performed and
run honestly. According to this definition, participating in sports includes
both training and real competition. Multiple layers of sports
administration—individual athletes, teams, clubs, leagues, tournaments,
national associations, governmental authorities, and international
organizations—from the public and private sectors are included under the
umbrella word "managed." Making and enforcing sport regulations and
bylaws are also included. Additionally, administration includes all levels of
on- and off-field officiating as well as tribunals, panels, courts, and similar
adjudication bodies. Integrity is managing athlete or team-related information
discreetly and refraining from exploiting such knowledge.
Corruption in Sports
Corruption in
sports is a global phenomenon which is constantly undermining integrity of the
entire industry. Recent years have seen an increase in the instances of
corruption in sports in their various forms like fraud, bribery and
institutional ranging in its extent from individual to systematic occurring in
different contexts including non-profit, for profit, sports, sport events.
Governance, international and online betting which had ultimately resulted in
several repercussions of sanctions, financial costs, tarnished reputation,
increase in employee turnover, and increased oversight. A lot of research has
been done into the arenas of preserving the integrity of the industry which had
helped shine light on the plethora of instances of corruption and its
multidimensional nature.
In commercial,
administrative, governance, economics, and sociology literature, the intricacy
and multifaceted character of corruption have been thoroughly documented. Talks
about corruption's definition and conceptualization have an impact on how the
issue is studied and measured. Macroeconomic, microeconomic, and micro-level
analyses have all been used to analyse corruption's many manifestations,
sources, effects, and restoration strategies in a number of circumstances.
These assessments have been influenced by a number of theoretical frameworks,
notably principal-agency ideology, organisational viewpoint framework, social
cognitive theory, effective management organisation characteristics, and
accountability and transparency. As a result, there is currently a strong
theoretical foundation upon which to further the investigation of corruption in
sports in particular.
Using the models
developed on the basis of theories of sports helps underline the conundrum that
despite the existence and adherence to strict rules, the governing bodies along
with the athletes have the tendency to cheat or bribe as it is viewed as an
optimal strategy.
Throughout history,
there have been many instances of huge corruption and bribery incidences in
sports. From the bribery case of Eupolos in 388 BC to the 2002 Olympic Games
case in the Salt Lake City, corruption and bribery have raised their ugly heads
numerous times throughout our history. One such case which led to questioning
the integrity of football World Cup organised by FIFA. This article closely
examines the case and the impact it had on the world of sports.
Anti-Bribery and Corruption laws in the Sports Industry
Sport permeates
both the public and private spheres on a global scale. In 2015, it is
anticipated that the private sports industry, which includes sponsorship, gate
receipts, broadcast rights, and marketing, would surpass US$141 billion. The
revenue from sports-related gambling, which was projected in 2012 to be worth
over £50 billion for the worldwide e-betting industry alone, can be added to
this.
Additionally, the
worldwide population spends a lot of money on sports. Public spending, like the
government funding for the Salt Lake City Olympics, routinely exceeds $100
million. In addition to the AU$265 million allotted by the Australian Sports
Commission, the Australian government recently gave AU$156 million to the
Queensland state government for the 2018 Commonwealth Games (Australian
Government, 2014).
Typically, public
funds are used to support anti-corruption efforts.
In order to
investigate and prosecute doping cases, the Commissione per la vigilanza ed il
controllo sul doping e per la tutela della salute nelle attività sportive
(Commission for the Vigilance and Control on Doping and the Protection of Health
in Sports Activities) is an official public body with legal standing in Italy.
Similar to that, ASADA receives AU$16 million in public funding each year. The
US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), in contrast, is a private organisation whose
scope does not include the four most popular sports in the country: American
football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey.
International Regulatory Bodies
Major international
athletic organisations have high expectations for the general public. These
organisations anticipate event-specific regulations to be a part of the
contemporary host bidding process in addition to the millions of money
taxpayers have donated to host numerous events. These expectations seem a
little out of place when you know how much suspected corruption is connected to
towns being awarded hosting rights. Italy was under pressure to suspend its
anti-doping regulations after a failed attempt to bring charges related to the
Salt Lake City bid. It may be argued that because they work internationally, officials
of international athletic organisations believe themselves to be above national
rules.
WADA and the
Interpol/FIFA partnership to combat doping and match-fixing are two excellent
examples of these organizations' commendable anti-corruption work at the
sporting level. The persistent, unproven, and potentially untestable claims of
high-level bribery and corruption, however, undermine a lot of the progress
made.
Sporting groups and
organisations have made a strong push for more public involvement in preventing
corruption in sport. Sporting organisations and licenced gambling operators are
aware that competition makes sport unpredictable to the point when fans,
sponsors, and broadcasters stop following it. A challenge to the idea of
unpredictability is match-fixing. This was well illustrated in Taiwan in 1997,
where a scandal involving bribery and gambling damaged the reputation of the
Taiwan Baseball League and sharply reduced attendance. The numerous
international non-governmental organisations that oversee sport have been
pushing for increased government engagement in preventing corruption in sport.
The necessity for
legislation must be viewed in its wider perspective. More actions that
constitute corruption in sport are being made illegal, either via the enactment
of new laws or by decisions to apply already-existing laws to an industry that
formerly operated independently. The 2001 Australian Interactive Gambling Act
(AIG) is a prime illustration of the new legislative strategy. This law made it
illegal to place bets on particular outcomes of athletic events, such as the
next tennis point or the outcome of a football game. A recent assessment of the
law acknowledged its deterrent impact and suggested expanding the ban on
microbets to include bets placed over the phone or during the athletic event,
despite the fact that there have been no prosecutions under the AIG.
FIFA
The international
body for governing football is Fédération Internationale de Football
Association (FIFA). It was established in 1904 to oversee international
competition and promote the spirit of sportsmanship and protect the integrity
of football in the sports industry.
In recent years,
football has grown in popularity in many countries and territories, including
the United States. Due to this heightened attention, the sport and FIFA have
spent the past 20 years in the spotlight of the world's media. The organisation
itself works to spread awareness of the sport around the world by hosting
competitions and securing corporate support. However, newly discovered evidence
has brought this organization's operations into the spotlight of controversy
due to allegations of conspiracy and official bribery with connection to
tournament venues and media rights deals.
The FIFA scandal
and the actions of its officials are likely to have a significant impact on how
the organisation operates now and in the future. FIFA is a major force in the
sports industry, bringing in billions of dollars annually. In this ongoing
discussion, new information is frequently disclosed.
The
Controversy
It all started with
the book of an investigative reporter which outlined the entire cash for
contracts scandal following the collapse of FIFA’s marketing partner ISL. It laid out several allegations like the
pressure on several high officials of FIFA to return the bribes they have
received over the years along with the vote-rigging during the election of the
new President. This led to start of a huge controversy that still surrounds the
entire process of voting and election in the FIFA management process. The
recent decisions of Russia and Qatar being the World Cup’s hosting nations have
raised a lot of questions specifically concerning Qatar which have invariably
led to the tarnished image of FIFA in the industry.
Guilty Plea
Two sports
broadcast rights firms and two other parties admitted guilt to financial fraud
allegations brought by the US government between 2013 and 2015. The sealed
petitions of Chuck Blazer, José Hawilla, Daryan Warner, Darrell Warner, Traffic
Group, and Traffic Sports USA were made public in May 2015. In a different case
from 2015, Singapore sentenced match-fixer Eric Ding to the "harshest
sentence ever received for match-fixing" of six years in prison. Ding had
bribed three Lebanese FIFA football officials with prostitutes in order to
influence them to fix future games they would officiate and had also obstructed
justice.
The
Investigation and Indictments
The Department of
Justice had been investigating in the corruption process involved in the
management of FIFA. Many red fags were raised during the bidding process of the
host nations for World Cup 2018 and 2022. It later caused the indictment of
several high-ranking officials of FIFA.
The First
indictment was issued in 2015. The charges included that of racketeering, wire
fraud and money-laundering conspiracies and suggests a scheme spread over a
time span of 24 years to enrich certain officials through corruption in
international soccer. The officers involved in this indictment were the key
players in the organisation. They abused their position of trust to gain
millions of dollars through bribes and kick-backs.
There were numerous
instances mentioned in the indictments which suggested that the officials had
entered into various agreements from early 1990s to early 2010s with several
leaders of the sports advertising agencies where $150 million worth of hefty
and periodic bribes and kickbacks were paid in exchange for lucrative
contracts. According to the indictment, these FIFA officials and sports
marketing employees mistreated the national member associations, national
teams, youth leagues, and development programmes that rely on financial
assistance from their parent organisations.
Later in the same
year, 16 other officials of the organisation were indicted for racketeering,
wire-fraud, money-laundering conspiracies in relation to the 24-year scheme. The
vote to choose the host of the 2010 FIFA World Cup was one of the supplementary
offences that the FIFA organisation seemed to find to be the most significant
and worrisome. When South-Africa was selected over Morocco and Egypt to host
the 2010 World Cup, several allegations surfaced pointing at internal bribe
system in FIFA. This was significantly highlighted in the superseding
indictment.
The Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) conspiracy, wire fraud
conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and obstruction of justice
charges carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison, according to the United
States Department of Justice press release announcing these indictments. The
offenders also risk forced repayment and penalties in addition to the potential
confiscation of their bribes.
2018
Revision
FIFA updated its
code of ethics in 2018 to eliminate corruption from the list of justifications
for ethical transgressions. It kept bribery, financial theft, and competitive
manipulation as crimes but inserted a statute of limitations provision
prohibiting further prosecution for such offences beyond 10 years.
Additionally, the
change made it illegal to publicly disparage FIFA in any way. The revision's
"true benefit to FIFA is the chilling impact this will have on
detractors," according to anti-bribery adherence specialist and former
FIFA governance committee member Alexandra Wrage.
Impact of
this Scandal
The newly elected
President rushed to salvage the reputation and image of FIFA amidst all the
allegations. There were several promises made with regards to reformation.
The biggest sports
organisation in the world is going to be negatively affected by the scandal for
years to come. Despite the potential for reputational harm, current FIFA
sponsors have already started to express their worries about the allegations of
wrongdoing.
This has led to the
status of football and integrity in the industry being besmirched. It has left
them questioning the impact it might have on their images.
For instance,
Coca-Cola demanded an impartial third-party reformation of the organisation,
saying, "We think that forming this independent commission will be the
most credible way for FIFA to undertake its reform process and is vital to gain
back the confidence it has lost." Similar worries were stated by
McDonald's Corporation, another significant FIFA World Cup sponsor. According to
them, recent charges and indictments have gravely damaged FIFA in a way that
goes to the very core of our support. To rebuild credibility with fans and
sponsors alike, FIFA must make significant changes. Both McDonald's and the
rest of the world anticipate tangible results.
In light of the
corruption controversy, former Argentine football star Diego Maradona
criticised FIFA and compared its board of directors to dinosaurs. He claimed
Fifa was a sizable museum. They are power-hungry dinosaurs that refuse to cede their
position. It will always be the same.
Dick Pound
criticised FIFA in October 2011 and stated that the organisation had not done a
credible enough job of demonstrating that it understood the many issues it was
facing, that it had the motivation to address them, that it was willing to be
open about its actions and the issues it discovered, and that its future
actions would allow the general public to have faith in the regulation of
sport.
Conclusion
The South Africa
World Cup controversy and related legal actions are still pending. Every time
we learn anything new, we must think about the possible consequences that may
result. It won't be a stable trip moving ahead because FIFA is the sport of
football's main backer and promoter. The US Department of Justice is still
looking into the organization's more recent judgments, votes, and other
actions. FIFA will need to undergo significant and comprehensive change in
order to recover its status as the world's most respected organisation in the
sports industry.
Written by
Mansi Jha
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