The scientific symposium “Manipulation of sports competitions”, held on 20th January 2016 at the University of Neuchâtel to celebrate the International Centre for Sports Studies’ (CIES) 20th anniversary, proved a great success. An audience of more than 200 people, which was mainly composed of representatives from various international sports organizations, attended with great interest speeches and debates delivered by a host of specially invited speakers who were able to share their expertise on this complex area. Here, we look back on a day which was full of discussion of the current issues and also future perspectives.
Following the opening of the symposium by Bertrand Reeb, President of CIES’ Foundation Council, CIES Director and IOC member Denis Oswald first put the issue of the manipulation of sports competitions into historical perspective.
Pierre Cornu, Judge at the Cantonal Court of Neuchâtel and former Senior Legal Counsel at CIES, next explained the context of sport manipulation and the way it functions. He highlighted in great detail how the key players interact, their motivation, the risks at stake and the areas in the world which are mainly concerned with this form of cheating.
The presentation by Pierre-Charles Pradier, Professor of Economics at the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, allowed the audience to better understand the economic factors involved in such an activity and which are intrinsic to the manipulation of sports competitions. For example, the return on any investment made by fraudsters was highlighted.
Nicholas Raudenski, Integrity Manager, and Octavian Bivolaru, Senior Legal Counsel at FIFA, presented the mechanisms which the football world governing body is currently implementing in the fight against such manipulations - the “FIFA Integrity Initiative”. Prevention, detection, information gathering, investigation and sanctions are all pillars contained within this initiative.
Wilhelm Rauch, Head of Legal Services at the Swiss Federal Office of Sport and Michael Emde, attorney at law from Bochum in Germany, both highlighted the actions public authorities have taken to tackle the problem. Mr Rauch insisted on the need to adapt existing legal frameworks to these current challenges, in particular following the recent related Convention by the Council of Europe. <del></del>Mr Emde explained the legal and practical difficulties which have to be considered by a Judge presiding over a criminal court, as highly organized networks are normally involved in this area of manipulation.
Thierry Pujol, Director of Sports Integrity at “Française des Jeux” (FDJ) in Paris next took to the floor as a representative of the sports betting industry. Following an interesting overview of the problems of manipulation for sports competitions, the focus of his presentation moved to the control and warning systems of the FDJ.
To conclude the day of papers, Laurent Vidal, a Professor at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, considered the complex and technical issue of information exchange between sports organizations, prosecuting authorities and betting professionals. This included noting its limits given the current legal system and practices.<ins></ins>
Two question and answer sessions, led by Madalina Diaconu, Associate Professor at the University of Neuchâtel, were also scheduled during the day. Both of these sessions allowed the audience to interact with the speakers and to ask relevant questions ranging from further sanctions to combative measures. <ins></ins>
Closing the symposium, Denis Oswald thanked all of the guest speakers and the CIES team for their organization of the event. The symposium had not only supported dialogue between various interested parties but also highlighted new ways to reflect on solutions towards a problem which so deeply and negatively impacts on the sports world. Professor Oswald also reminded the audience that the symposium would be followed by the publication of its proceedings at a later date.
To watch the event in its entirety: https://youtu.be/c9Pr1qENUGs
Here is a selection of articles and radio-television broadcasts covering the event:
http://www.arcinfo.ch/articles/regions/canton/neuchatel-nourrit-le-debat-492756 et http://www.arcinfo.ch/articles/regions/canton/des-paris-sportifs-souvent-truques-493205?from_newsletter=1
http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldepuebla/notas/n4063651.htm
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