06/12/2011 Culture, Science, Education and Media
Strasbourg, 06.12.2011 - "In a world of sport that has become global, the financial stakes are now enormous, and even the economic crisis has not curbed the general tendency towards excess." With these words, François Rochebloine (France, EPP/CD) this morning opened the hearing in Paris on good governance and ethics in sport, organised in the context of his writing of a report on the subject. The report, he emphasised, "should promote the reform process in the world of sport, particularly professional sport, a reform which is needed to ensure that sport continues to be a vehicle of ethical, social and educational values which are vital to our societies".
The rapporteur added that "if we are to trust sport, we need to trust its governing bodies. Do all of these bodies deserve our trust today? Why not demand true transparency?".
The Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, recommended that representatives of governments, parliaments, the world of sport and civil society work together on every aspect of ethics in sport. "Sport is not an area in which governments can lay down legal standards and take punitive measures except in co-operation with the world of sport. Fair play in sport goes beyond the sporting action, offering as well a lesson on fair play in life."
Dominique Rocheteau, former Chair of the Ethics Committee of the French Football Federation (FFF) and a member of FIFA's Ethics Committee, drew attention to the introduction by the FFF of an ethical charter, to be enforced by a new national council. While pointing to the key role of independent sports movements and amateur clubs, he advocated the introduction of international regulations at both European and world levels, like those adopted by the World Anti-Doping Agency to combat drug use.
Bernard Amsalem, President of the French Athletics Federation, expressed regret about the lack of common rules in the European and world governance of sport. With this in mind, he called for the setting up of an international agency to be responsible for the ethical issues connected with sport, with power to take action against those who break the rules. He also emphasised the need to protect young migrants from the excesses which sometimes occurred in relation to transfers, in particular by setting age limits to restrict transfers of underage athletes, but while encouraging decentralised co-operation.
The President of RC Strasbourg football club, Frederic Sitterlé, referred to the problems encountered by his club over the past few years, albeit problems which had enabled the club to start afresh on a sound basis. Backed by a sports association, the club was now rebuilding on solid foundations in terms of values: caution on the part of all stakeholders, a fighting spirit to take the club forward, and solidarity between players and the members of the club's extended family who love and work for it.
Jean-Pierre Mougin, Secretary General of the French National Olympic and Sport Committee, also advocated the starting of a European project on "sport and good governance" entailing the study, definition and implementation of universal principles and regulatory mechanisms. It was certainly through compliance with the principles of good governance that the "all too numerous unpleasant surprises" which occurred in sport could be forestalled. Through co-operation, he emphasised, there would be more exchanges and greater transparency.
Andrew Jennings, an investigative journalist, introduced himself to participants as the world's only reporter barred from press conferences held by Joseph Blatter, President of FIFA. While criticising the lack of transparency of FIFA’s governing bodies, he showed participants extracts from his investigative reports made for the BBC and ITV in the United Kingdom, in which FIFA’s highest officials were accused of corruption, backed up by documents on which he had based his book on the subject.