A bill aimed at preserve the ethics of sport, strengthen the regulation and transparency of professional sport and improve the competitiveness of clubs has just been tabled in the Senate on September 12, 2016. This follows the Great Conference on Professional Sport which issued its report on April 19 2016.
The objectives of the proposed law on sport
The Senators behind the text specify that this proposal aims to "protect sports and sports competitions from the risks to which they are exposed (violence in stadiums, fraudulent payments, conflicts of interest, match-fixing etc.)".
The major stake therefore seems to strengthen the ethics of sport by strengthening "the approach of the actors and in particular of the federations and professional leagues in this field and to consolidate the means to fight against these abuses".
The Senators thus highlight "the appearance of new forms of cheating and the improvement of techniques for manipulating competitions" who "that the ethics and values of sport are not always respected by the players and the integrity of our professional sports is increasingly undermined".
Also, more effective control of the activity of the various actors and financial flows, "especially in the context of the transfer market or club buyout operations", would be "essential so that France can appear to be still at the forefront of financial regulation".
The proposed Law thus aims to:
- "preserve the ethics of sport and step up the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions" (Title I);
- "better control the financial flows of professional sport as well as the activity of sports agents" (Title II);
- improve the competitiveness of professional clubs and the professionalization of their players (Title III).
- develop and publicize women's sport with the establishment of a "Standing Conference on Women's Sport" (Title IV);
- "finalize the transposition by France of the third version of the World Anti-Doping Code"And"re-establish the jurisdiction of the French Anti-Doping Agency following a modification made in the framework of Ordinance No. 2015-1682 of December 17, 2015" (Title V).
Preserve the ethics of sport and strengthen the fight against the manipulation of professional sports competitions
chapter I
Preserving the ethics of sport
Article 1er
This article aims "facilitate the adoption of an ethics and professional conduct charter by delegated federations and professional leagues"Charter that"must comply with the principles defined by the charter of ethics and professional conduct of French sport" of the CNOSF.
The Federations will have to institute "a committee responsible for ensuring the proper application of the charter and, more broadly, responsible for questions of ethics, deontology, prevention and treatment of conflicts of interest within the sports institution".
This Charter must be adopted by December 31, 2017 at the latest.
Chapter II
Article 2
This article imposes on the federations organizing competitions "to control the application of the technical rules which they enact and, if necessary, to sanction the non-compliance".
These provisions are a response to the latest cases of technological doping and concern the rules "use of material and equipment by athletes during competitions (size of the ball or protections, size of playing fields or bicycles, prohibition of motors or other electrical techniques in non-mechanical sports, etc.)".
It broadens the scope of betting bans in order to prohibit sports betting on their own competition but also "on no other competition open to sports betting within the same discipline".
This article also extends "professional leagues the power to enact rules setting bans on sports betting on players in competitions".
Better control the financial flows of professional sport and the activity of sports agents
Article 4
Creation "a federal body responsible for the administrative, legal and financial control of the activity of sports agents" who "will collect all the information and legal and financial documents relating to the activity of sports agents in its discipline".
Article 5
This article aims to strengthen the French model of management control of professional clubs by redefining "the control perimeter and to extend the investigative powers of the management control bodies existing within the federations and professional leagues".
The Senators say it is:
- "to better specify the field of intervention of these bodies by not limiting them to clubs participating in competitions organized by the league but more simply to those members of the latter. This makes it possible in particular to take into account disciplines, such as cycling, where the professional league is not legally the organizer of the competitions in which sports associations and companies participate but which, however, exercises administrative and financial control over them.";
- "to extend the field of competence of these bodies to the control of plans for the purchase, sale, and change of shareholders of sports companies, for the sake of better traceability of investments and economic security of projects of French professional clubs".
Improve the competitiveness of professional clubs and the professionalization of their players
Article 6
The sports society would henceforth have "a right to use the affiliation number for carrying out its activities", Allowing clubs"be more attractive to new investors when they can enter this number on their balance sheet as an intangible asset".
In return, "the agreement which is concluded between the association and the sports society provides for the conditions, particularly financial, of the rights granted by the first to the second by virtue of the principle of solidarity of the sports society with regard to the association". The duration of this agreement would henceforth be between 6 and 12 years.
However, the affiliation number would be "always issued by the sports federations to the sports association, and not directly to the sports society".
Article 7
A new means of remunerating athletes appears.
This Article "aims to enshrine the fiduciary model to manage the exploitation of the personality attributes of players and coaches of the same club taken as teammates".
This system consists of the establishment of an organization allowing the operation and the outsourced, professional and secure management of these attributes of athletes, and would thus make it possible to "transparency and protection of assets managed in trust on behalf of these athletes, while helping to create new sources of income for clubs".
According to the Senators, this device has many advantages.
First of all, it makes it possible to distinguish, by law, the two distinct functions performed by athletes:
- that of a competitor, on the one hand, linked to sporting events, training, participation in the life of the group, etc., in the context of a link of subordination,
- and that of ambassador of his image, on the other hand, linked to the participation in promotional operations with partners, in advertising campaigns or in the use of the name, voice, image on derivative products or during reports or rebroadcasting of sporting events, etc., which the athlete can now exploit on his own or that his employing club can collectively exploit.
These provisions would also validate the ethics bonuses put in place by this numerous clubs. Indeed, according to the Senators, "this fiduciary scheme will allow players to become more responsible by making part of their remuneration (that linked to the exploitation of personality attributes collectively) depend on their notoriety and therefore will necessarily influence their behavior".
The remuneration ceiling that may be included in this system must be specified by Decree.
Article 8
Possibility for federations and professional referees who so wish to conclude a "specific" CDD under the conditions provided for in article L.222-2-2 of the Sports Code.
Promote the development and media coverage of women's sport
Article 9
Creation of a permanent conference on women's sport which will "The aim of this is to define the lines of development favorable to the development of women's sport in France and to support, in conjunction with all the players concerned, this movement which is essential for French sport".
It thus pursue three main objectives:
- a space for exchanges and sharing of information and good practices between the sport players themselves but also with all those who participate in the economic and structural development of women's sport;
- vocation to provide educational training for sports federations and professional leagues on the specificities of the audiovisual market;
- may also be requested by federations, leagues and other actors to benefit from advisory missions to support the implementation of tools and structures suitable for improving the structuring of women's clubs and the media coverage of sports practice female in their disciplines.
Miscellaneous
Article 10
Extends the biological profile system to all athletes in order to comply with the new rules of the World Anti-Doping Code.
Today, the biological profile only concerns "high-level athletes, hopeful athletes as well as those who have been licensed for the last three years, professional athletes licensed from approved federations as well as those who have been licensed for at least one year during the last three years, and athletes who have been the subject of a disciplinary sanction on the basis of the sports code during the last three years". The new provisions specify that"henceforth any athlete will be able to benefit from this device due, for example, to their investment in sporting events".
Article 11
Restores the field of competence of the AFLD that the ordinance n ° 2015-1682 of December 17, 2015 simplifying certain systems for prior authorization and declaration of companies and professionals a, by ricochet effect, reduced.
On the same theme, see the following articles:
[10.02.2021]
[21.03.2017]
