The world of sports is not exempt from the possibility of cases of corruption and other types of criminal offenses occurring within its organizations. An example of this is the recent Sentence 111/2020 of the Second Section of the Provincial Court of Navarra, on the so-called “Osasuna Case”, which represents a milestone as it constitutes the first conviction for a crime of corruption in sport in Spain.
The crime of sports corruption is expressly regulated in art. 286 bis of the CP, in section 4.
It is clear that in the sports sector irregularities continue to be suffered and raise doubts about the good compliance with the rules by sports entities and this is where Compliance plays a fundamental role.
Since the modification of the Organic Law of the Penal Code of June 22, 2010 and inclusion in the Penal Code of art. 31 bis, it is established that legal entities may be responsible for the commission of crimes, which includes clubs, leagues, club associations, federations and other sports entities.
On the other hand, the Spanish Professional Football League establishes in its Statutes the obligation that associated football clubs must establish crime prevention systems, having to have an integrity program in order to prevent, detect and react to possible crime. commission of infractions.
What are the consequences of incurring infractions within a sports entity?
- Fines
- Dissolution of the sports entity.
- Suspension of its activities
- Closing of its premises and establishments
- Temporary or definitive prohibition on carrying out in the future the activities in the exercise of which the crime has been committed, favored or covered up.
- Judicial intervention.
In summary, having a crime prevention model and good implementation of policies and procedures can avoid many risks that in the long run can lead to serious legal consequences for sports entities; since, to the penalties stipulated for each crime, we must add the serious economic losses that may accompany these, without forgetting that, with a compliance program, the administrator of the organization can be freed from criminal responsibility.
The different Compliance specialties are the subject of detailed study in the Master in Compliance and Data Protection Management from the EIP International Business School.
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