In 2012, sports news focused on the sports betting affair surrounding the French Handball Championship meeting, Cesson-Montpellier.In this case, the players involved in said bets risk disciplinary sporting sanctions.What if something like this happens in football? Legal analysis of the situation.
Recall that an investigation was opened, following the suspicions of the Française des Jeux (FDJ), on the Ligue 2 meeting Istres-Lens during the 2011-2012 season.
What would have happened if the suspicions of the FDJ had been founded?
What legal elements do we have in order to try to answer the question of the sanction of prohibited sports betting (a question which is also distinct from those of corruption or even fraud)?
What is provided for by law
When sports betting was opened up to competition, article 32 of law n ° 2010-476 of 12 May 2010 imposed on federations "to integrate into the code of their discipline provisions intended to prevent those involved in sports competition from initiating, directly or through an intermediary, bets on bets based on this competition and from communicating to third parties inside information, obtained in the course of their profession or their functions, and which is unknown to the public".
This provision was supplemented by Article 7 of Law No. 2012-158 of February 1, 2012, aimed at strengthening sports ethics and the rights of athletes.
This article modifies article L.131-16 of the Sports Code which now provides that federations must enact "rules intended to prohibit players in sports competitions:
(...) c) To initiate, directly or through an intermediary, bets based on the competition in which they participate and to communicate to third parties privileged information, obtained in the course of their profession or their functions, and which are unknown to the public".
Law enforcement by football authorities
In application of the above-mentioned provisions, the French Football Federation has inserted in its General Regulations an article 124 entitled: "Special provisions relating to sports betting".
Taking up the provisions of previous laws, the regulation provides that:
(...)
- Communicate to third parties privileged information obtained in the course of his profession or his functions, and which is unknown to the public.
Regarding sports sanctions, point 2 of article 124 specifies that: "Any violation of these provisions may result in disciplinary sanctions under the conditions provided for in appendix 2 to these regulations.".
However, let us note that if Article 124 specifies that the violation of these provisions may "lead to disciplinary sanctions under the conditions provided for in Appendix 2", the said Annex 2 does not however provide"conditions"!
Indeed, after examining Appendix 2 (2012-2013 season version), no sanction dedicated to sports betting is specifically provided for.
Certainly note that Article 280 of the Professional Football Charter recalls that "players must not in any way participate directly or indirectly in betting, lotteries, gambling or any other event or activity in connection with football matches. They are not allowed to participate neither actively nor passively in companies, enterprises, organizations, etc. who promote, communicate, organize or manage such events or activities".
But, once again, no sanction is specifically stated here.
Can a player from a Ligue 1 team betting on a match in the championship be sanctioned by the football authorities?
In fact, let us recall that article 5 of Annex 2 specifies:
Outside the framework of a match but in relation to it, facts affecting an official and, more generally, when serious damage is caused to individuals or property.
2) Violations of sporting morals, serious breaches affecting the honor, image, reputation or consideration of football, the Federation, its Leagues and Districts or one of their leaders, attributable to any person, natural or legal, subject to the jurisdiction of the Federation".
On reading this provision, insofar as it is not a matter of the field police, to declare themselves competent, the disciplinary bodies of the FFF must necessarily invoke a violation of sporting morals, or a serious breach affecting the honor, image, reputation or consideration of football.
However, a sports bet, even made by an athlete, is not in itself immoral or constituting such breaches. It is simply the violation of a ban.
Nevertheless, admitting federal disciplinary jurisdiction, what would then be the possible sanction?
Insofar as no specific condition or sanction is defined, reference should be made here to the (general) provisions of Article 2 of Annex 2 which indicate:
- the warning;
- the blame ;
- the fine, which when it is imposed on a player, cannot exceed the amount of the fines provided for police contraventions;
- loss of matches;
- loss of ranking points;
–The match (s) behind closed doors;
- the suspension of land;
- decommissioning;
- exclusion from competition;
- demotion to lower division (s);
- the suspension of a natural or legal person;
- license withdrawal;
- exclusion or refusal to enter a competition;
- the ban on the bench and referee locker room;
- the prohibition of all official functions;
- the radiation ;
- compensation for damage;
- ineligibility in time to governing bodies, in particular for serious breach of the technical rules of the game or breach of sportsmanship.
In other words, a player in a football competition (player, coach, managers, etc.) who bet could be subject to a sanction (regardless of any element of corruption or fraud) which could range from a simple recall to the order with final exclusion.
In addition to the questions of the arbitrariness and the proportionality of the sanctions which could then undeniably arise, let us note that a footballer who would bet would not, in fact, be sanctioned stricto sensu for "sports betting", but for violation of "morality athletic".
The legal slippage of the basis, not of the prohibition but of its sanction, does it not risk being a source of criticism?
And other sports?
Handball
In the handball, article 84 of the General Regulations of the French Handball Federation also provides for the prohibition of betting, or communicating information to third parties, for those involved in competitions.
Regarding disciplinary sanctions, these are expressly and specifically provided for in Article 22 Annex 7 of the Federal Disciplinary Regulations: a suspension of 6 dates (6 meetings) maximum for a first violation, 12 dates for a first repeat offense and a delisting at the second recurrence. This text also specifies that these sanctions are applicable to managers, referees, officials, players and licensees.
The National Handball League recalls this prohibition in Chapter 3 (articles 5311 and following) of its Disciplinary Regulations. The penalties (the same as those provided for by the FFHB) are here again specific and listed in Appendix 11. They do not apply only to players. They also extend to members of the technical and medical staff, FFHB or LNH elected officials, club managers, sports agents and staff of the FFHB, LNH, clubs or unions, some of whom are not dismissed. (which removes all disciplinary power from the body seized, Council of State 25 May 2010).
Basketball
In the basketball, Article 609 of the General Regulations provides that "can be sanctioned any licensed member, any association or sports company affiliated to the Federation:
(...)
30. Who initiates, directly or through an intermediary, bets based on the competition in which they participate or in which they are directly or indirectly interested and to communicate to third parties privileged information obtained during their profession or their duties, and which are unknown to the public".
As with football, the FFBB does not provide for a specific scale of disciplinary sanctions.
The LNB for its part, takes over the provisions of the FFBB, but specifies that "any violation of these provisions may result in sanctions under the conditions provided for by the FFBB regulations.", But again, these"conditions"are not specifically provided for in the Federation's regulations.
The League specifies, however, that the clubs "must include information specifying the prohibition for any person of the club to place bets or disclose to third parties privileged information obtained in the context of his profession or his function, and which is unknown to the public, on competitions the concerning:
- in the contracts of players and coaches,
- In administrative staff contracts
- within their internal regulations".
Tennis
In the tennis, article 85 of the Administrative Regulations of the French Tennis Federation provides that "constitute reprehensible acts punishable by disciplinary sanctions provided for in article 87-A non-compliance with the Statutes and regulations of the Federation and / or leagues and departmental committees and in particular, in addition to breaches of the Federal Code of Conduct, acts following committed by a licensee:
(...) 15 - the fact of betting - directly or through an intermediary - on all or part of a competition in which he is involved in any capacity whatsoever;
16 - communicating to third parties information - privileged and unknown to the public - which would have been obtained during a competition in which he is involved in any capacity whatsoever;
17 - taking - directly or through an intermediary - bets not authorized by law n ° 2010-476 of 12 May 2010 or inciting and / or allowing - in any way whatsoever - the taking of bets not authorized by this law; (...)".
Here again, no specific sanction is provided for by the federal regulations.
En conclusion
Insofar as no specific sanction is provided for by the basketball, football or tennis federations, it is conceivable in the state of the regulatory texts that for the same facts (sports betting on a meeting from a player in the competition), a football player could be struck off from the first sanction while a handball player would only be sanctioned with a suspension of six matches!
In other words, on what criteria, if these are not defined, the sanction (athletic) Can it or should it be based?
Isn't it random (if not arbitrary) to deal with this question solely in the name of morality and / or sports ethics, the sanctions for the violation of one or other of these concepts not having, by nature, need to be so different from one discipline to another?
Is it not appropriate to coordinate the scale of sanctions for all the sports disciplines concerned?
We bet that the matter of the violation alleged the prohibition of sports betting by certain players will improve the information of sports players, the drafting of sports regulations and apprehension in the treatment of this ban.
