Gdańsk talks on fighting corruption in sport
The ministers of sport of EU Member States and representatives of the world of sport met in Gdańsk on September 6th. The talks focused on the fight against corruption in sport.
The meeting was attended by the ministers of sport from Poland (Adam Giersz), the United Kingdom (Hugh Robertson), Hungary (Attila Czene), Portugal (Alexandre Miguel Mestre), as well as by official delegations from Spain, Cyprus, France and Denmark and by representatives of sports federations: UEFA, FIBA Europe and EHF.
The fight against threats to the integrity of sport competitions is one of the priorities of the Polish Presidency in the field of sport. Match fixing is the most important of these threats.
The problem of manipulation of sports results is currently widely discussed on the international forum. The Council of Europe has already taken some measures in this regard. The organization’s Committee of Ministers will soon adopt recommendations concerning the promotion of integrity in sport. The problem has also been recognized by the International Olympic Committee, by sports federations and by sports betting operators.
– As the Polish Presidency, we want to help change the European sport drawing from our own experience. We will be determined in our fight against the threats to the integrity of sports competition, including, primarily, corruption and match fixing", said the Minister of Sport and Tourism Adam Giersz.
The participants of the consultations agreed that joint and decisive action is needed to counteract the threats posed to sport by match fixing.
One of the main subjects of the talks was the Polish proposal to establish “sports corruption” as a specific criminal offence in the legislative systems of all the EU Member States. The important role of good governance, including financial fair play, in the fight against unfair practices in sport was also underlined.
The Gdańsk consultations of the EU Member States with representatives of the world of sport should help formulate the recommendations of the Council of the European Union concerning the fight against match fixing. The document will be finalized during the meeting of the Working Group for Sport and will probably be adopted at the meeting of the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council in November 2011.
The meeting was attended by the ministers of sport from Poland (Adam Giersz), the United Kingdom (Hugh Robertson), Hungary (Attila Czene), Portugal (Alexandre Miguel Mestre), as well as by official delegations from Spain, Cyprus, France and Denmark and by representatives of sports federations: UEFA, FIBA Europe and EHF.
The fight against threats to the integrity of sport competitions is one of the priorities of the Polish Presidency in the field of sport. Match fixing is the most important of these threats.
The problem of manipulation of sports results is currently widely discussed on the international forum. The Council of Europe has already taken some measures in this regard. The organization’s Committee of Ministers will soon adopt recommendations concerning the promotion of integrity in sport. The problem has also been recognized by the International Olympic Committee, by sports federations and by sports betting operators.
– As the Polish Presidency, we want to help change the European sport drawing from our own experience. We will be determined in our fight against the threats to the integrity of sports competition, including, primarily, corruption and match fixing", said the Minister of Sport and Tourism Adam Giersz.
The participants of the consultations agreed that joint and decisive action is needed to counteract the threats posed to sport by match fixing.
One of the main subjects of the talks was the Polish proposal to establish “sports corruption” as a specific criminal offence in the legislative systems of all the EU Member States. The important role of good governance, including financial fair play, in the fight against unfair practices in sport was also underlined.
The Gdańsk consultations of the EU Member States with representatives of the world of sport should help formulate the recommendations of the Council of the European Union concerning the fight against match fixing. The document will be finalized during the meeting of the Working Group for Sport and will probably be adopted at the meeting of the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council in November 2011.