Martin Polaine gave a presentation on ‘Best Practices to Protect Whistleblowers’ at the European Commission’s workshop on ‘Developing European Initiatives to Fight Match-Fixing’, which took place in Brussels on 17 and 18 February.
The event was attended by a wide range of stakeholders, including parliamentarians, regulators, sports governing bodies, the IOC and representatives of the betting industry, as well as officials from EU states. It marked an ongoing commitment to tackling match-fixing and served as a prelude to future work and projects.
In his presentation, Martin gave an overview of the role of the whistleblower in sport and the challenges faced, whether in individual or team sports. He also highlighted the need for clear and detailed policies and procedures and addressed ways to achieve effective implementation, including possible use of discounted penalties or even amnesty for a whistleblower who has him/herself been guilty of a violation.
Useful links:
International Olympic Committee (IOC) article entitled IOC shares insights on preventing competition manipulation with European policy-makers
European Commission study on criminal Law and match-fixing
European Commission article on match-fixing
