Specialists from St Petersburg University: international sport calls for better legal regulation

The external pressure and isolation of Russian sport, which had been observed before, has increased significantly in recent months. Paralympians, tennis players, footballers and chess players have been excluded from international competitions. Russia’s representatives have been suspended from international associations and federations. Foreign athletes working in Russia have been allowed to terminate their employment contracts without any sanctions.

The panel raised the concern that mass bans of athletes from Russia could be used as a pressure point during the Olympic games. Should they stand up for their rights in court or develop cooperation in sport with Asia-Pacific countries? The panel speakers believe that it is important to do both.

Ilia Vasilev, Academic Supervisor of the master’s programme in sports law at St Petersburg University, noted that the restrictions imposed on Russian sports do not comply with the fundamental principles of law, first and foremost the principle of proportionality: ’The negative measure must be proportionate to the conduct of a person in sport − the level of their misconduct or the degree of non-performance. Proportionality in sports justice is but a key criterion for the legitimacy of any limitation or restriction on the exercise of a right. The Russian athletes found themselves in a situation where there was no offence but actual punishment ensued. The principle of proportionality in law expresses, in essence, the concept of fairness and it is clear that such decisions are unfair.’ When explaining the bans on athletes, international organisations refer to the need to respect the integrity of the competition, unreasonably suggesting that the participation of Russian athletes might compromise that integrity. By using such reasoning, without reference to a specific legal regulation, international sports federations are in effect granted immunity from review and analysis of the legitimacy of their decisions.

Unfortunately, you would never see any attempts to find alternatives in the decisions of sports federations.

Ilia Vasilev, Academic Supervisor of the master’s programme in sports law at St Petersburg University

To approach this problem, he said, it is necessary to develop the regulatory framework for the federations and formalise the principles currently applied by international organisations in the field of sport, the so-called lex sportiva. There is a need for a thorough review of the lex sportiva and the content of its principles to ensure that they are consistent with the fundamental principles of law and, above all, proportionality. Otherwise, these measures should be considered unmotivated as not meeting the criteria of clarity, regulatory precision and the certainty of the consequences for the subjects of sport, i.e. discrimination for political reasons.

Representatives of higher education institutions noted that, in the new geopolitical context, it has become even more important to train highly qualified sports lawyers. Such specialists will not only assert the rights of athletes, but will also contribute to the creation of a new legal framework.

The panel concluded by recommending further development of anti-crisis measures, which could include hosting in Russia large-scale tournaments with representatives of Asian-Pacific countries.