Types of Corruption Crimes in Sports in the Countries of the European Union

Abstract

Corruption crimes in sports have long gone beyond a national scale, having become a global problem. The aim of this research was to study the most common types of corruption crimes in the EU and to provide recommendations on the legislative regulation of combating sports corruption in in the EU. The following methods were used in this study: the method of comparison and contrasting; the method of descriptive analysis; the anamnestic method; the forecasting method. The study established that the main forms of corruption crimes in sports are bribery or fraud. The most common types of them are match-fixing (33 cases), doping (24 cases), fraud (6 cases), legalisation (laundering) of criminal proceeds (4 cases). Corruption has the following influence on sports: discrediting of athletes; threat to the athlete’s health; decreased popularity and spread of sports; decreased confidence of fans; a threat to the entire sports sector. Conclusions. It is advisable to adopt the EU Convention on combating corruption and bribery in sports, which will enshrine a list of the main types of corruption crimes in sports, the main threats from corruption crimes for sports, directions of state policy in the field under research, types of responsibility for these actions; the obligations of the EU member state to this regulatory legal act must bring the national legislation into compliance with it. This study is not comprehensive, and the proposal for the development of the Convention on combating sports corruption and bribery opens up prospects for further research in the field of regulation and management in sports. Keywords: Corruption crimes, Sports sector, Match fixing, Doping, Bribery, Bribery in sports.