Following months of fruitful discussion between stakeholders and the purposely set-up Anti-Corruption Task Force, on which the Nationalist Party was represented through its MPs David Agius and Jason Azzopardi, a Bill tackling much-needed legislative updates to sports corruption is currently being debated in Parliament. The Bill seeks to replace current legislation which dates back as far as the 1970s.
The Nationalist Party has always stood four-square against corruption in sports, adamant that it corrupts the younger generation and leads to a failed society. Corruption destroys society at its core: its values of fairness, equality, empathy, perseverance, discipline and teamwork.
The Bill contains strong provisions intended to deter anyone who contemplates approaching an athlete to influence his or her behaviour, and to deter athletes from even daring to dream of accepting such a bribe.
The proposed legislative measures include making it an aggravated offence to bribe someone with the intent of making a profit, threatening or using violence, and if committed by an official or an athlete.
When the individual is a member of a national team the offence gets more serious by a degree. When an athlete conspires against his or her own nation, it is indeed an act of treason, deserving a deterrent of comparable magnitude.
One would therefore hope that a small minority of sports journalists do not undermine the efforts being made by foreign institutions, Fifa in particular, by calling for leaner sentences in their reportage, as has been the case recently when the national football team was involved. It is already a mammoth task to defeat sports corruption; any tactics of the sort, by the limited few, only serve the purpose of those whose intent it is to destroy clean sport.
Corruption in sports corrupts the younger generation and leads to a failed society
All in all, the Bill is drafted in a way that ensures that those who contemplate carrying out any sort of match fixing will be duly punished. One hopes this will act as a severe deterrent to others tempted to follow the same path.
The new law would require an athlete, club member or official to report any instance of being approached to fix a match or any instance of match fixing they become aware of. Failure to do so would be punished by a fine or imprisonment. Athletes will therefore be legally obliged to speak out the moment they become aware of any attempt to fix a result or of any result that has been successfully fixed.
In order to encourage witnesses to come forward with such information, there is a vital need to ensure that adequate protection is granted to such witnesses. In the absence of such a measure, the fight against corruption can only be half-baked.
For instance, the disciplinary regulations of the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) provide the required level of protection to witnesses, particularly by allowing anonymity, while at the same time giving the defendant the opportunity to cross-examine the witness. While this principle is not being introduced in this law, there will be provisions on the status of whistleblower. In view of recent events surrounding former police inspector Jonathan Ferris, one hopes this status is indeed granted when requested, as these provisions would otherwise serve no purpose.
Following my recent appointment as the Nationalist Party spokesperson for youths, sport and the fight against obesity, I will ensure that the party continues to be proactive and constructive in sports.
First off, the party is organising two upcoming events. The first is a sports photographic exhibition in which local photographers showcase their best captured moments across the sporting spectrum. The exhibition is running from now until April 27 at the Parliament building.
The second event is a national conference on sports corruption entitled ‘Stop the fix, fix the threat – għal sport nadif’, to be held on April 21 at Grand Hotel Excelsior. The conference is free of charge and will feature a wide range of speakers from Fifa, Spain’s La Liga, local sports associations and federations, journalists, sports educators and psychologists. All associations, federations and clubs are invited to attend.
In order to ensure that sport development is given the highest priority, so that our young and upcoming athletes are given the necessary support and funding, we must ensure that sports are kept above partisan politics. To this affect, I have invited my counterpart, Parliamentary Secretary Clifton Grima, to address both events. The country is already too small to waste its energy on infighting instead of directing its efforts towards achieving results on an international level. The recent qualification of the national waterpolo team to the European Waterpolo Championships is a good example.
Each one of us can make a difference. Together we can make the change.
Ryan Callus MP is the Opposition spokesperson for youth, sports and the fight against obesity.