2012 ORDINARY SESSION

________________________

(Second part)

REPORT

Fourteenth Sitting

Wednesday 25 April 2012 at 10 a.m.

In this report:

1.       Speeches in English are reported in full.

2.       Speeches in other languages are summarised.

3.       Speeches in German and Italian are reproduced in full in a separate document.

4.       Corrections should be handed in at Room 1059A not later than 24 hours after the report has been circulated.

The contents page for this sitting is given at the end of the verbatim report.

Mr Mignon, President of the Assembly, took the Chair at 10.05 a.m.

THE PRESIDENT (Translation) – The sitting is open.

1. Joint debate on good governance and ethics in sport and the need to combat match fixing

THE PRESIDENT (Translation) – We now come to the joint debate on two reports from the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media. The first is entitled “Good governance and ethics in sport”, Document 12889 and addendum, presented by Mr Rochebloine; the second is entitled “The need to combat match fixing”, Document 12891, presented by Ms Brasseur.

In order to finish by 12.30 p.m., we may need to interrupt the list of speakers at about 12.15 p.m. to leave time for the reply and the votes.

The rapporteurs each have 13 minutes in total, which you may divide between presentation of the report and reply to the debate.

I call Mr Rochebloine, rapporteur, to present the first report.

Mr ROCHEBLOINE (France) said that hundreds of thousands of people would watch the Euro 2012 football championships in a few weeks’ time. Later, the greatest athletes in the world would gather in London for another great sporting spectacle, the 2012 Olympics. Yet sport was more than a mere spectator or participant activity; it held a serious place in social life. It promoted values such as commitment, strength of character and pushing the limits of what could be achieved. For young people in particular, it highlighted values of loyalty and respect for opponents. At its most potent, it could foster peace and respect between nations.

The reality of modern sport was far from this idealistic image, however. Sport had suffered from uncontrolled growth in financial influences, which had not been reduced by the global economic and financial crisis. The auctioning of viewing rights for sporting events, for example, highlighted how sport had been commercialised and encouraged activities such as doping, corruption and the manipulation of match results. Other dangers also existed, including the bankruptcy of smaller clubs that faced unfair competition from those richer and more powerful. Young people were manipulated into buying merchandise, and oligarchies had seized power. Sporting scandals portrayed in the media brought home the darker side of sport. There was particular concern for football, but that concern applied, too, to other sports.

The thinking behind the draft resolution had been that reform of professional sport had to be encouraged if its collective social value and importance for young people in particular was to be retained. New regulations alone could not bring the necessary change; that required shared will and commitment from national governments, sporting federations and clubs alike. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe had its role to play in providing incentives and dialogue to bring about change. The aim had to be to generalise fair play, prevent financial excess and improve governance.

Various initiatives were outlined in the report. First, a “law of sport” should be encouraged in every nation, to introduce a sporting code that would regulate activities and resolve issues that sport itself was unable to address. Secondly, such codes should provide young people, including young immigrants, with a framework for their interaction with clubs and agents. Thirdly, provisions should be introduced to improve financial transparency, including limits on funding from outside clubs rather than through their own resources. Finally, there was a need to improve governance arrangements for sporting associations to improve transparency, tackle misdemeanours and implement appropriate punishment when necessary. An ethical approach was crucial. Governance mechanisms had to be reviewed and improved and true transparency demanded.

A controversial issue had arisen over the committee’s appeal to FIFA. In March FIFA had released a press communiqué in reaction to the committee’s report. On 23 April, the committee adopted an addendum in response to FIFA’s comments. It appeared that FIFA was questioning the objectivity of the report, which FIFA denied. A response had been sent to FIFA inviting Sepp Blatter to discuss FIFA’s concerns with the committee. FIFA had declined on the basis that sport was autonomous. Such autonomy was, of course, a good thing and meant that sport could resist the influence of politics. However, that should not stop sporting authorities addressing issues of corruption or money laundering. FIFA had to respect the rule of law.

It was a matter of particular concern that FIFA had failed to act in relation to accusations against it, even when a case had been brought under Swiss law. The Swiss authorities were to be thanked for their assistance in this matter. FIFA’s leadership had done nothing to identify and punish the culprits. A “law of silence” had been established. The Assembly should do everything in its power to throw light on cases of corruption that tarnished the image of sport. FIFA should be exemplary. It had declared its commitment to reform, and the Assembly should support that aim.

Those who had provided assistance in the creation of the report deserved much thanks.

THE PRESIDENT (Translation) – Thank you, Mr Rochebloine. You have two minutes remaining to reply at the end of the debate.

I call Ms Brasseur, rapporteur, to present the second report.

Ms BRASSEUR (France) would discuss just one aspect of the wider sporting issue – the intimidation, fraud, money laundering and other activities that went into match fixing. When athletes took drugs they did it to win. When they fixed matches, they aimed to lose, but with the intention of winning money. It would be impossible to summarise the scale and extent of match fixing in just a couple of minutes, as the situation was simply too complicated.

A recent investigation co-ordinated by German authorities had identified at least 300 dubious matches involving more than 350 people. More than 100 people were arrested across Europe in countries including Croatia, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia and Turkey. It was estimated that this group of criminals had earned around €5 million from an initial investment of only €1.6 million. The scale of sport betting had never been higher. One recent football match saw a betting turnover of more than €1 billion.

Match fixing was an attack not only on the image of sporting organisations, but on sporting values and on law and order. If criminal groups were to be prevented from increasing their influence over sport, a concerted effort had to be made to combat illegal practices. A comprehensive strategy to combat match fixing would require prevention, detection, co-operation, and a convention.

It should be a priority to protect young sportsmen from manipulating groups. Support from national and international sports organisations such as UEFA would be vital to this cause. Increased detection would require closer co-operation with both betting organisations and sports organisations. In this regard, the draft resolution called for sports betting operators to co-operate with public and sports authorities by systematically reporting any suspicious operations. In addition, restrictions on betting should be considered; it was not appropriate that bets could be placed on anything, anywhere. Stronger sanctions were required against corruption and fraud in sport. That would mean improving legislation and including specific offences in law where appropriate. Better co-operation among law enforcement organisations would also be vital.

The Council of Europe was well positioned to promote co-operation among international sporting operations, in particular the International Olympics Committee, which was to be congratulated on its work in this field to date. At a national level, there was a need to harmonise laws relating to sports corruption and fraud to make cross-border investigations and prosecutions more effective.

The report also called on the Committee of Ministers to support efforts to prepare a European convention on match fixing. A preliminary study of the feasibility of an international convention had already been presented to the Conference of European Ministers of Sport in Belgrade on 15 March. It was important, however, that such a convention should be open to non-member states.

Countries had to work together to protect the ethics and integrity of sport. They had to have the will to succeed and work together to be effective. To use a sporting metaphor, it was necessary to play as a team to score a goal.

THE PRESIDENT (Translation) – Thank you, Ms Brasseur. You have slightly more than three minutes remaining.

May I remind members that the Assembly has already agreed that speaking time in the debate this morning should be limited to three minutes?

I call Mr Santini, who will speak on behalf of the Group of the European People’s Party.

Mr SANTINI (Italy) noted that the first report on good governance and ethics in sport was particularly important in the light of the second report on match fixing. Match fixing was a breach of ethical values and fell under the jurisdiction of criminal courts. The Council of Europe should be concerned because this corruption was a breach of those rights with which it was concerned.

The Panathlon International organisation had spread across 24 nations with 260 clubs under its auspices. An observatory set up in Antwerp in 2007 had fleshed out guidance on ethics in youth sport. It involved organisations from the level of the International Olympics Committee right down to schools and local sports organisations. The objective was to help young people choose the right path. This required work at grass roots level.

Of the rapporteur’s proposals, the most important was the suggestion that sports fraud should be made a criminal offence in each country. In Italy this was already the case, with, regrettably, good reason.

THE PRESIDENT (Translation) – Thank you, Mr Santini. The next speaker is Ms Ohlsson, who will speak on behalf of the Socialist Group.      

Ms OHLSSON (Sweden) – First, on behalf of the Socialist Group, I thank the rapporteurs for these two excellent and necessary reports. It is very worrying that the manipulation of sports results has increased because so much money is involved in sports betting. States, betting operators and sporting organisations must work together to combat match fixing. We want fair play in all its forms, even financially.

It is important to emphasise in these reports that Council of Europe member states and national and international sports governing bodies should strive to strengthen financial fair play and ensure that young sports people are protected. Sports institutions must co-operate at all levels in society, including, for example, at the European level. We hope that they will take note of the reports we are discussing today. But international associations must also take note of rules and legislation applied at the national level with regard to drugs, doping and so on. The guidelines being considered today are addressed to the member states of the Council of Europe and all sports governing bodies. They are intended to promote activities that will prevent financial abuse, provide effective protection to young sports people, and improve the machinery of governance in sports institutions. In order to achieve this, it is very important that sports clubs have good and responsible managing boards and well-educated leaders. It is the same even for small football clubs such as Lidköpings Fotbolls Klubb, which has around 1 200 members with teams for girls, boys, women and men. I know this because I am the chairperson of the board.

We have discussed these issues to ensure that we follow legislation in the financial area, including the age at which we should sign contracts with players and so forth. It is necessary to follow the rules to protect young and migrant sportspeople. That would include prohibiting commercial transfers being made of players under the age of 16. As I said earlier, it is important to have good and well-educated leaders, especially for children and youngsters. Sports leaders should include everyone and offer meaningful activity. You have to be sure that your leaders are good people. In Sweden, we have discussed the issue of sexual abuse in sport, especially after the high jumper, Patrik Sjöberg, wrote a famous book about how his personal trainer abused him sexually.

We must also consider the question of gender equality in sport, particularly how resources are divided between men and women and boys and girls, not only within an individual club, such as a football club, but also between different sports such as ice hockey, in which more men participate, and dancing, which is taken up more by women. Gender equality must embrace equality of resource in sport.

I will discuss violence in and around sporting venues on another occasion because I do not have the time to do so now.

THE PRESIDENT (Translation) – Thank you, Ms Ohlsson. The next speaker is Mr Liddell-Grainger, who will speak on behalf of the European Democrat Group. However, I do not see him in his place, so I will call Mr Hancock, who will speak on behalf of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

Mr HANCOCK (United Kingdom) – I did not mean to imply in my sedentary remark that Mr Liddell-Granger is still in bed. He is probably somewhere he needs to be.

On behalf of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, I welcome both the reports and I congratulate the rapporteurs on their work. I also congratulate my former colleague from Ireland who started the report on match fixing.

While both reports are welcome, from my perspective, one ingredient is missing – the responsibility of sporting bodies to their supporters, who turn up every week, pay their money to watch but are abused by the system in which sport operates, particularly in professional football. It is a shame that no mention is made in either of the reports of the enormous contribution that is made by people who regularly support a sporting activity.

If ever there was an indictment against professional football, and against FIFA in particular, it can be found in its response to the report. In its statement FIFA said: “There was no justification for the criticism of limited financial transparency and potentially dubious expenditure”. That comes from an organisation that we should treat with the contempt it deserves. If ever an organisation has lost its place in the world, it is FIFA. Time and time again, it completely and utterly undermines the credibility of football. It should be recognised as a body that no longer serves its purpose as a mouthpiece for football. It has categorically denied its responsibility to the most important thing in football – the supporters.

My own club of Portsmouth has a tradition of professional football dating back more than 100 years, but it has been hijacked by people who have used it for their own ends in one way or another. The club is now in total despair. The fans have fought loyally to try to save it, as other fans have fought to save other sporting activities around the world.

Fans are abused because of cheating and betting. Anne Brasseur was right to expose the amount of money available to people prepared to gamble on sport. Gambling on sport immediately undermines the very value of sport, which should be an equal contest. Once that money has been brought into the system, there is, unfortunately, little hope for the credibility of sport.

I hope that when the rapporteurs wind up, they will also express the concerns of boxing supporters, football supporters and cricket supporters, all of whom have been enormously badly let down by the organisations that are conspiring to control sport. Gambling in sport is out of control and it is about time it was brought under proper regulation and transparency. FIFA should be the place where we start.

THE PRESIDENT (Translation) – Thank you. I call Mr Loukaides on behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left.

Mr LOUKAIDES (Cyprus) – Thank you, Mr President. Allow me to congratulate Chelsea on last night’s victory against Barcelona. I support Barcelona, but it was a fair victory in the circumstances.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin said, “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.” Most people seem to agree that trying and failing is more admirable than not trying at all. In practice, though, most people seem to be interested only in the medal winners.

Competition is not unethical; it is reasonable that winners should be rewarded even if their victories have an element of chance. But the need to win can drive some competitors to unethical behaviour. Sports, and football in particular, have been criticised for being dependent on a team’s budget. Wealthier countries and teams can give their athletes access to better training facilities, doctors, dieticians and kit.

When huge amounts of money are at stake, and when money is the determining factor in a game, the world of professional sport seems detached even further from that of the genuine amateur player, for whom it is a hobby. Similarly, the transition from amateur to professional sport becomes more a matter of luck than of talent.

Rich or bigger teams are in a better position to win or defend themselves legally if they are caught cheating. But being rich and getting away with everything is a lesson taught by the values of the established socio-economic system, which is to be found all around us in every field. Sports are no exception. We have to admit that the rules that apply in competitive sport are the same as those that govern our lives. They are the system, the dark reality of a double-standard rule of law, unfairly implemented all around the world according to who you are.

The core values of the present reality are exploitation and profit making at any cost. Why should sport be run any differently, given that it has become a business? Governance, the lack of transparency and corruption must be dealt with as societal problems and not just a sports problem. Although the rapporteur has presented a well-balanced and complete assessment of the situation today, we believe that we must also approach the issue more broadly.

Our focal point, dear colleagues, is not only ethics in sport; sport is just another victim. Our focal point is ethics in our lives. We must therefore concentrate on finding systemic solutions to these phenomena, in tandem with the recommendations in the report, which we adopt.

THE PRESIDENT (Translation) – Thank you, Mr Loukaides. Do the rapporteurs wish to respond? No.

I call Mr Fournier.

Mr FOURNIER (France) thanked the rapporteurs for reports that provided proof of deep concern about the future of professional sport. It was apparent that many aspects of professional sport were over-financed and over-doped. The growth in online betting had fuelled an explosion in match-fixing practices in recent times. This was especially the case in the “king of games”, football, but it was also the case with other sports such as cricket, snooker, basketball and handball. The profits gained from corruption could be in inverse proportion to the level of the athletes or sports concerned.

Organised crime was becoming increasingly high-tech in its practices. A recent paper by the Institute of International and Strategic Relations had shown that several mafia groups were involved in sports corruption. It had highlighted the practice of sponsors of footballers from South American nations using their influence over those players to determine matches, including once they had transferred to European clubs.

Corruption in sport extended beyond the players. For example, in a recent UK incident, technicians had deliberately caused a floodlight failure to interrupt a match. Betting rules in the event of light failure stated that the final score was the score at the time at which play was interrupted.

It was clear that simply banning such practices was not always effective. In the United States, for example, 49 states had bans in place on sports corruption, but this did not prevent it from taking place in university sports. The practice was becoming increasingly international and underground. A football match in Europe could be influenced by a criminal gang operating in Thailand.

The Council of Europe had strong competences in the area of sport and needed to work harder to co-operate with the EU in tackling issues such as sport doping and online betting. In facing head on this important issue, the Council would fulfil its true mission, which was better than looking away with a wry smile.

THE PRESIDENT (Translation) – Thank you, Mr Fournier. I call Mr Frécon.

Mr FRÉCON (France) welcomed the reports. The ever-increasing influence of professional pressures in sport undermined its fundamental values. There was a conflict between upholding Olympic principles and commercial interest. Corruption came about because the two could not co-exist.

Nobility in sport was called into question when a small number of football clubs were able to spend unlimited funds purchasing players. A club could be considered great only if it could spend tens of millions of euros on players. Increasingly the quality of such players seemed not to correspond to the price paid for them. Rather, the price paid tended to reflect the purchasing power of the club. Nor did the high salaries of players lead to their being more devoted to their team, and they would be willing to move on in a short time for a higher-paid contract. Indeed they were increasingly being perceived as multi-millionaire mercenaries. The modernisation of stadiums was also leading to increases in ticket prices, which reduced their affordability for many people. The links between supporters and their teams were being broken.

This was not to call for a return to an amateur system. But it was important that the spirit of sport and its underlying values should be regained. The Council of Europe provided a good forum for finding new consensus on this important issue.

THE PRESIDENT (Translation) – Thank you. I call Ms Graham.

(Ms Woldseth, Vice-President of the Assembly, took the Chair in place of Mr Mignon.)

Ms GRAHAM (Norway) – Sports and recreation are fundamental to the well-being of all people, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or religion. Throughout history, sports and games have brought people together and forged friendships and understanding across borders; in that context, I need mention only the Olympic movement. The reports show how top-level sports can be corrupted, and we cannot allow that. I commend the two rapporteurs for their work and fully support the resolutions.

In her report, Ms Brasseur states that “corruption in sport is no less serious than corruption in other parts of the social sphere.” I could not agree more. Match fixing is corruption, and parallels can be drawn with insider trading. Just as insider trading undermines trust in the financial system, match fixing is undermining trust in sport as an honest game where people are brought together to test their skills and abilities. The sports industry undermines itself if people cannot be certain that a game’s result has not been decided in advance.

My main concern, however, is not about the professional athletes but about the people who form the basis of any sports association. Without parents and their children there would be no organised sports and no future for organised sports. Children play sports because they are having fun. It is good for the development of their motor skills and social skills, it lays the foundation for their continued healthy lifestyle, and they learn about fair play. What happens when fair play is not a core value in sports? What happens when children learn that manipulation and cheating is necessary to win? That is when organised sports will start to crumble from within.

The rapporteur points out that UEFA has taken important measures to combat match fixing, and she has a good point. Its work is trickling down to national levels, and I am glad to note that the Football Association of Norway is taking these issues seriously.

At the top of the sports pyramid we have professional athletes, but at the base we have fathers who are volunteering as football coaches, mothers who are getting their sons and daughters ready for skiing school, and so many others who contribute with their time and resources to provide positive experiences and good memories for children – and yes, for us all as followers, as Mr Hancock pointed out. It is not right that cynics are allowed to profit from these efforts and this volunteerism. We should all encourage our governments to support this work. Let us team up to succeed in this match.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Ms Bugnano.

Ms BUGNANO (Italy) thanked the rapporteurs for their report. No one could deny the important role of sport in society and the important values it embodied, particularly for the younger generation. However, sport was experiencing significant difficulties in many countries, and football was a particular problem. The Council of Europe needed to respond to these issues because of sport’s profound influence on young people. This did not necessarily mean that it should seek to intervene, but it should work towards promoting a more ethical system.

It was wrong that FIFA was resisting recommendations for reform of its governance structures. It needed to work with European institutions to increase transparency and combat corruption and bribery. It was surprising that FIFA would not support that as such an organisation should work in the service of sport. Good governance was a fundamental precondition for transparency and democracy. There should be zero tolerance of corruption, and that was why the Assembly should accept the report.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Ms Blondin.

Ms BLONDIN (France) noted that the Lisbon Treaty had created a special role for European institutions in respect of corruption in sport. The governance of sport in Europe was quite different from that which existed in the United States. Whereas in Europe there were pyramidic systems of promotion and relegation, many championships in the United States were closed and clubs treated more as brands. That provided a spectacle for the consumer but did not guarantee quality.

The excellent reports underlined the commercial and financial excesses that existed in various sports. In football, those had created a massive burden of debt for some clubs. The cost of player transfers was becoming increasingly untenable in the current economic climate. Sporting fairness was in question if a club had to spend millions of euros in order to succeed. Inflation was making the sector weaker. The United States did not have the same problems in spite of the extent to which money played a role in its sporting sector. It employed a system of drafts without the huge transfer payments seen in Europe, which prevented a few clubs dominating leagues. The American model, in which sport relied more on spectacle and show than on true competition, was not always to be welcomed, but it had some aspects that could be of value to Europe. UEFA’s fair play initiative was an important development, but whether it would survive once people took cases to court was questionable. It was vital to ensure sport was kept alive in Europe.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Mr Renato Farina.

Mr R. FARINA (Italy) thanked the President and congratulated the rapporteurs. In the Italian Parliament, he was fortunate to sit next to Manuela DiCenta, who had won many gold medals. At its highest level, when genuine and authentic, sport could not be bettered. But it was vital to avoid corruption. Leading sports personalities could send out the right messages to young people. Anyone who did the opposite did those young people a disservice for life. The Romans had long ago relied on bread and circuses in the everyday lives of their people. Sport remained as important today.

Elements of organised crime had infiltrated sport and that had had an impact on the young in particular. There were also structural problems, including a huge gulf between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Both sent out the wrong messages.

The report referred to the trafficking of young people for sport, a practice that effectively left young people enslaved in golden chains. Members had to recognise their responsibilities in relation to the Third World as well as in their own nations. All the initiatives described in the report should be examined and recommendations implemented.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Ms Huovinen.

Ms HUOVINEN (Finland) – Sport is an important common language for people all over the world. Sport helps us overcome linguistic and cultural boundaries, even when we do not share the same words. It does not matter where we live – we all know what is required to jump high, run fast or play football. Consequently, sport gives us an important tool for integrating, for example, immigrants and refugees. Sport offers opportunities to get to know one’s new country, its people and customs.

Unfortunately, there are too many disturbing phenomena in the world of sport. The report emphasises that in an excellent way. Sport desperately needs more openness, transparency, good governance and work against corruption and intolerance.

Protecting children and young people should be the central aim for us decision makers as well as those who lead sporting organisations. A gifted athlete should not be exploited. I support Ms Ohlsson, who spoke about the need for good and competent leaders and trainers. That is the best protection for our children.

A big challenge for the future of sport is its high cost as a hobby. That may put it out of the reach of some children and young people. That is unacceptable. I hope that sports activists and we decision makers in Europe will give that challenge the right attention.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Mr Knyshov.

Mr KNYSHOV (Russian Federation) noted that match fixing was not a new phenomenon and there was some evidence that it had occurred even before Christ, during the ancient Olympics. It was, however, a global problem and was the most serious way in which sport was being undermined. Members might reflect on the words of Pierre de Coubertin, who had established the modern Olympic games and had talked of the dignity of victory.

Football was one of the world’s most popular sports and a huge business, involving betting and other operations. It was no longer simply a case of two teams on a field, and the problems were not European alone, but were present in Africa and Latin America. In 2013, Russia would host the summer university games and the Winter Olympic games, and it would also host the football World Cup in 2014. No single match-fixing case had been proved in Russia, but it was likely in the post-Soviet era that not all teams had always played honestly. The media had reported news of odd results and players had spoken of such occurrences. Match fixing had therefore received considerable attention in Russia, where an ethics committee and an expert committee on match fixing had been established.

Not all would support a convention in this area, but all needed to work hard to resolve the problems.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr Knyshov. I call Mr Vejkey.

Mr VEJKEY (Hungary) – When sportsmen cheat by doping and match fixing, they harm not only themselves but their sport and their fellow sportsmen who compete cleanly. They also harm the individuals, communities and nations that have stood behind them, supporting and motivating them.

Violence in sport must be addressed. If we are to eliminate violence in sport, we need to establish appropriate limits regarding what is acceptable behaviour in sport.

Sport can reduce youth crime and improve school performance. Sport should be available to anyone regardless of their gender or skill level.

It is time for the Council of Europe to consider regulating ethics in sport and combating match fixing in Europe. Hungary supports the creation of a new Council of Europe agreement on match fixing, and it is important that most of the 47 Council of Europe member countries have already joined the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport. Hungary was a founding member of EPAS and has participated actively in relevant work since its foundation. This work must continue and active engagement is needed.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr Vejkey. Mr Marquet, you have the floor.

Mr MARQUET (Monaco) said that sport was a pan-social phenomenon. It had an important role in developing social cohesion and engaging young people around the world. It should be a model of good practice.

The rapporteurs were to be thanked for their work as better governance and the fight against match fixing were vital. Colossal sums were involved in sport, and excessive media coverage made sports people stars. Sport certainly contributed to the global economy, but it attracted crime and raised questions of public order. Its positive values could not be undermined. As Mr Rochebloine had said, fair play had to be encouraged. The industrialisation of sport had led to various forms of corruption, and regulators had failed in their oversight roles. With potentially huge profits, new technology such as smartphones and the Internet made it more and more difficult to combat such problems. In order to achieve better governance, joint working between national governments, sports organisations and betting organisations was required. Betting organisations had to denounce fraud, governments had to punish crime, and legal instruments against match fixing were required.

As a doctor, he was particularly concerned about doping. It posed a risk to health but also called into question the honour of sport. Measures to combat doping were required, including criminal proceedings in some cases.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr Marquet. I now call Mr Sheridan.

Mr SHERIDAN (United Kingdom) – Thank you, Madam President. I, too, thank the rapporteurs for these excellent reports. I also want to place on record my thanks and appreciation – I am sure I speak for many colleagues – for the work of the former Irish senator Cecilia Keaveney, who was responsible for organising the written declaration calling for an international agency to combat match fixing in sport. She has done extensive work in this field. The declaration was lodged in the autumn 2011 plenary session, but despite their great words the main sporting bodies have not addressed this crisis yet.

Match fixing represents a clear and present danger to the integrity of sport in Europe. Those are not just my words: those sentiments have been expressed by the famous former French international player Michel Platini. Currently there are more than 60 national police investigations into match fixing around the world. Indeed, in a recent survey of its members, the European umbrella organisation for soccer professionals found that more than one in three of those surveyed had knowledge of fixing having occurred in their league. That is a disgraceful statistic.

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is an unregulated, $1 billion a year business masquerading as a non-profit entity. Its everyday operations affect the lives of citizens all over Europe. This massive business operates in every country in Europe. It generates revenue and profits, moves money through financial systems, dictates workers’ rights, conditions and remedies, makes demands of governments and citizens and much more. But this massive business, which affects the lives of thousands of European citizens, is uniquely and alarmingly unregulated.

This business has annual shareholder meetings but it is not democratic. It is merely the alter ego of 24 men – and I emphasise that they are men. When it comes to certain key decisions, there is even further devolvement to an exclusive, private club of seven men who are unaccountable to anyone. Alarmingly, far too many of those men continue to be plagued by unresolved and uninvestigated allegations of corruption. A business having that kind of unregulated power over the citizens, workers and instruments of continental Europe would not be tolerated anywhere else in the business sector, and it should not be tolerated in sport. We need to get the integrity back into sport, we need to get people playing sport and we need to get young people involved in sport. There is corruption not only on the sporting field but in the boardrooms and we need to tackle that as well.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr Sheridan. I call Mr Wach.

Mr WACH (Poland) – I express my appreciation and support for both reports, and I congratulate both rapporteurs on their very good work. Mr Rochebloine’s report is more general and covers a wider field of problems, while Ms Brasseur’s report is more specific and concentrates on match fixing and betting in sport. Both reports are interrelated and complementary.

Nowadays, people have more time so they want to watch more sport. They like to be emotionally engaged; sometimes local patriotism is involved. As a result there is growing media coverage and big money is involved in advertising, betting – legal and illegal – and so on. The reports clearly identified the main problems: financial crime, organised crime, the alienation of sports associations and federations that are working for their own advantage and the exploitation of young people in sport.

Young people in sport are often treated as a commodity. That is especially painful, because such treatment can damage their whole life. Sometimes it happens not only with the approval but even at the initiative of ambitious and greedy parents. We must strongly oppose that by educational and legal means.

Contemporary sport often resembles a modern and sophisticated circus, which I watch with interest and satisfaction. It offers good entertainment and gives rise to emotions. It can be a space to form fan clubs and organise socially. But even in classical circuses the training and performance of animals is forbidden. We must do much more to protect children and young people from that kind of treatment.

The legal means proposed in both resolutions and the recommendations in Ms Brasseur’s report are well designed and should be widely supported. They address FIFA as well as other federations and associations, including national ones, and member state governments and parliaments. The Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport of the Council of Europe is a useful tool for co-operation and for the implementation of resolutions, as the reports stress. We all have much to do to improve the situation.

However, I am not optimistic, because as Ms Brasseur correctly says in her report the situation has deteriorated since the previous report in 2008 on preserving the European sport model.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr Wach. The next speaker is Mr Kucheida.

Mr KUCHEIDA (France) noted that football dominated the headlines of the sporting world, and the report focused on that game. The financial disparity between different clubs was a significant factor in football. The Coupe de France championship had been a wonderful spectacle this year and, not unusually, the final was a David and Goliath contest between Lyon and Marseille. Although David might triumph occasionally, financial disparity between football clubs was growing year by year. The level of financial disparity raised ethical issues.

In addition to the large sums of money being poured into the larger football clubs, there was also the question of the trafficking of young people in such clubs. Young players, sometimes from developing countries in Africa, were treated as commodities. Young people saw football as a promised land without understanding the potential pitfalls. Football organisations, particularly FIFA, needed to work to ensure justice and equity in the sport and to ensure greater focus on financial transparency.

Top players were paid shockingly high salaries, albeit for a limited time. Efforts had to be made to ensure that money was better shared throughout the whole sport.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you, Ms Kucheida. The next speaker is Ms Gafarova.

Ms GAFAROVA (Azerbaijan) – First, I thank the rapporteurs for their instructive reports. I strongly believe that the issues are very important, not only for Europe but for the whole world. It is difficult to imagine present-day human life without sport. It is significant for all the people of the world, regardless of race, religion, gender and language and has become for all of us a unique platform for friendship and peace. That platform is the foundation for relationships where people can shake hands rather than firing on each other and killing each other in war. Sport is the basis for our future. Young generations can grow healthily and keep away from bad habits, thus providing a substantial contribution for the future.

Governing and managing sport fairly is of great importance to realise our expectations and to justify our hopes. If governed wrongly, sport can get into the hands of shady people; it can become a means for dirty business and income and turn into a source of fraud, with serious consequences.

Nowadays, the risks for sport have greatly increased. To prevent damage to internationalism, the conciliatory nature of sport must be a priority for every state. I should like to take this opportunity to mention the successful sports policy implemented in our country in recent years. It could be a significant example of correct management decisions taken by government, and it offers good proof of the success we have achieved.

In recent years, Azerbaijan has become a rising star in the sphere of sport, particularly from an organisational point of view, Conditions for the development of sport in our country and the success we have attained in international competitions and tournaments are good proof of that. For some years Azerbaijan has hosted world and European championships, including boxing, taekwondo and gymnastics. We are pleased that this year the world under-17 women’s football championships will be held in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has also submitted its candidacy to host the 2020 Olympic Games. The economic potential of Azerbaijan, with its many infrastructure projects and its position as a leading regional centre, will enable it to hold that great event to the highest standards.

In conclusion, I again thank the rapporteurs for their very interesting reports.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you, Ms Gafarova. The next speaker is Ms Marin.

Ms MARIN (France) thanked both rapporteurs. In this Olympic year the question of ethics in sport was particularly relevant. In today’s world, the amount of money entering sport had had its effect, and teams competed to win at any cost. The differences between amateurs and professionals had grown, not least in the areas of ethics and governance. Even Olympic winners now received huge bonuses.

Great sportsmen possessed a number of qualities, among them giving their all to win and humility in success. The question was how such qualities would be passed on to the next generation. In France, many volunteers worked in sport, with 29% of all sports volunteers working in youth sports clubs. For many disadvantaged youths, such clubs offered a window into a different world and provided an example of citizenship in action. That was the kind of sport that the Assembly should defend.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you Ms Marin. The next speaker is Mr Reimann.

Mr REIMANN (Switzerland) said that the report contained some useful findings, but he was unhappy about some of the multilateral and detailed criticism of FIFA. He did not say so because he was Swiss or because he had any links with FIFA. He had no hesitation in criticising FIFA, but only when it was justified. Much had been made of the ISL case but it was clear that Andrew Jennings, the English journalist who publicised the case, had had scores to settle with FIFA and was not reliable.

He questioned whether it was the task of the Council of Europe to go into such detail in its report. If so, other organisations could be probed in the same manner, but the report made absolutely no mention of other sports bodies. For example, the award process of the International Olympic Committee was very opaque, and that process could equally be probed by the Assembly. Some of the report’s recommendations went too far: it should be remembered that Switzerland was a sovereign state.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr Reimann. The next speaker is Mr McNamara.

Mr McNAMARA (Ireland) – I commend the rapporteurs for their work and for bringing these reports to the Assembly. I also thank the previous rapporteur, Cecilia Keaveney, for her work on the need to combat match fixing.

The reports focus on the need for good governance in sport. One of the key requirements of any system of good governance is the right of access to effective remedy if fairness is breached, but what effective remedy can there be for a team that fails to qualify for a championship because of a handball? What effective remedy can there be for a team that fails to qualify for a national final because a referee ends a game early? What effective remedy can there be for a young boxer who fails to qualify for the Olympic games because of a very controversial points decision? Perhaps there is no effective remedy that can be granted to people in those circumstances – not one that is compatible with the essence of sport, which is a competition between competitors undertaken at a single point in time and where, after that single point in time, any decision must stand.

It is of the essence for the future of sport, at national and international levels, amateur and professional, that competitors, trainers and supporters have confidence that when decisions are made, regardless of how controversial the decisions may be, and even if those decisions are downright wrong, they are not tainted by corruption. They must not be influenced by considerations of money or power.

For that reason, I am somewhat disappointed by the recommendations in the reports. They fail to suggest setting up a body to investigate corruption in sport. I notice that at paragraph 8.2 of the report on match fixing, the recommendation calls on national sports federations to, “appoint persons responsible for matters relating to ‘sports betting and sport’s integrity’ (a kind of Ombudsperson) and establish links with outside companies which monitor sports betting”. However, no similar recommendation is made to set up an international body to deal with these matters internationally. I would ask the Assembly this: what became of the proposals, which were supported by 86 members, for a body akin to the World Anti-Doping Agency in order to combat corruption in sport?

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr McNamara. The next speaker is Mr Falzon.

Mr FALZON (Malta) – I also congratulate the rapporteurs on their very interesting work. The subject matter of these reports is delicate and sensitive. The threat of match fixing in sport is a major one and organisations should be committed to do everything in their power to tackle it. In the fight against illegal betting and match fixing, preventive measures that can be taken, along with the protection of players and the integrity of the game, are of the utmost importance. The global reach of illicit betting and match-fixing rings demonstrates their power fundamentally to undermine sport from one continent to another by corrupting administrators, officials and players, and they require a global response.

Some of the specific objectives of sport are to combat racism, discrimination and violence in general, in particular among children and young people. Sport is a means by which people can be brought closer together regardless of their social, cultural or ethnic background, their age or their sex. It eliminates barriers and negative stereotypes. Sport creates a universal language with common references. It teaches the essential values of tolerance, respect and solidarity. Fair play is a fundamental part of the game, which represents the positive benefits of playing by the rules of using one’s common sense and respecting one’s fellow players, opponents, referees and fans. The member associations and organisations should all be dedicated to fair play, as fair play has to be clearly manifested both on and off the pitch. It is not acceptable to allow shameful episodes to pass without review, as such inaction would make a mockery of the commitment to fairness.

This Parliamentary Assembly has to send a clear message to encourage and support good governance and ethics in sport and combat match fixing and illegal betting, as that also threatens fans’ faith in sport.

As the rapporteur concluded in her remarks, we have to work together as a team to score goals. Moreover, we expect red cards to be shown for foul play.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Ms Zhurova.

Ms ZHUROVA (Russian Federation) said that as an Olympic champion herself she was grateful to the Assembly for considering the issues raised in the report. It was important to work towards ensuring that all competitive sports were fair and honest.

The report had highlighted some of the many problems within FIFA and other governing bodies. It also raised concern about the large sums of money being earned by FIFA’s senior management. It questioned why this was happening when athletes themselves were against it. Corrupt practices also provided a bad role model for the younger generation. Match fixing in football was unacceptable to its supporters, who did not want to watch such matches.

Previous speakers had referred to sport as a performance or spectacle. This should be taken as a given, and it should not necessarily be a problem so long as the competition itself remained honest. Ethics committees had a key role to play in combating corruption, and could do much to prevent such practices from entering the public domain and further damaging the image of sport. Finally, it was worth remembering that values could not be bought.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Mr Connarty.

Mr CONNARTY (United Kingdom) – First, I wish to commend both reports. We owe thanks to Ms Brasseur for completing the work launched and driven forward with some passion by the former senator from Ireland, Cecilia Keaveney. Today, I wish to ask Assembly members to commit to look in detail – back in their countries, not just when listening to this debate – at the evidence that we took in the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media on 6 December 2011 and 6 March 2012. We looked in detail at the behaviour of FIFA. I make no apology for focusing on FIFA.

Earlier, Ms Bugnano said that FIFA should be at the heart of the campaign against corruption. Of course it should. She also called for zero tolerance. However, the evidence that we heard in December 2011 showed the massive gap when it comes to the Olympic movement. We have only to look at paragraph 16.2 of the resolution on universal principles of good governance; it talks about good governance in the Olympic and sports communities.

Then there is the scandal of nepotism and secrecy, lack of transparency and failed accountability that is FIFA. Sadly, the one representative from FIFA’s ethics committee, the member from France, spoke for 15 minutes and said absolutely nothing. It was the blandest statement I have ever heard from anyone talking about an organisation that is clearly under serious scrutiny. We might ask a question. If you are inside FIFA, are you silenced? Why are you silenced? Is it because it is worth a lot of money to you to be inside FIFA and you do not wish to lift the lid?

Mr Jennings was referred to earlier. He illustrated with video and copies of accounts, which he gave to the committee, the rot that is at the heart of FIFA. Some €13 million was transferred to one member from a football facilities committee. Massive amounts of money went to that same gentleman’s son-in-law – €3 million in one year, just coming on to an official position in FIFA. There is something wrong when that happens. Ms Brasseur said that criminal groups had taken over. She was talking about match fixing, but in reality criminal behaviour has become entrenched in FIFA.

I say to my colleague Mr Reimann that, as Shakespeare said, he “doth protest too much” when he defends FIFA. FIFA must be the focus for us; it is at the heart of the most popular sport in the world. It is based in a Council of Europe country and our intention must therefore be to make sure that it is clean.

When, in March 2012, Mr Thomas Hildbrand, special prosecutor for the Swiss canton of Zug, gave evidence, he placed FIFA in the dock and his canton placed FIFA in the dock. We must place FIFA in the dock if we are to clean up sport from its heart outwards.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Mr Sudarenkov.

Mr SUDARENKOV (Russian Federation) thanked Ms Zhurova for her contribution to the debate, noting that she was an Olympic gold medal-winning speed skater.

Sport was a fundamental part of the culture of most countries, but it could develop only if its reputation remained impeccable. Reputation was its life blood. It was true that sport was increasingly becoming more of a spectacle than an expression of culture. While laws existed to prevent cheating in many countries, the problem of corruption in sport was getting worse. Part of the reason for that was the relationship between professional and amateur sports. The latter had become increasingly marginalised on television, in the press and by specialist sports journalists, a problem that required to be tackled.

A range of other issues needed attention. For example, men and women were still not treated equally. Indeed, in some countries women were not permitted to travel abroad to represent their country. Elsewhere, the health of athletes once they had retired did not receive sufficient consideration. Human rights in sport were also important, as was access to sport. The recommendations and conclusions of the excellent reports were to be recommended to the Assembly.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Mr Haupert.

Mr HAUPERT (Luxembourg) thanked the rapporteurs for their excellent reports. The existence of corrupt practices in sport undermined its fundamental ethical and social values. It was important not to lose sight of the fact that sport had a vital role to play in promoting social cohesion and understanding between different peoples. The growth in sport had been a societal phenomenon over the past century, having grown out of the pastimes of the higher social classes. This had had a democratising effect, increasing public health and education, and affecting profoundly the use of leisure time. Today, sport had an increasingly important economic role, providing many jobs. It was also a key part of the advertising industry, bringing benefits for organisers and players.

However, sport risked becoming the victim of its own success as corrupt individuals sought to gain financially. That risked tarnishing the reputation of sport. These points were outlined well in the report.

It was largely the responsibility of sports governing bodies to sanction their athletes where corrupt practices were uncovered that were not criminal. Such sanctions should be sport related. However, European institutions and international bodies had a key role to play in working with sports governing bodies to tackle criminal activities. This was necessary not least in the interests of the next generation.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Mr Leyden.

Mr LEYDEN (Ireland) – I welcome and commend the reports by Mr François Rochebloine and by Ms Anne Brasseur, who is president of my group, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. She recognised the work of Cecilia Keaveney, who initiated this inquiry and is present in the Chamber; I welcome her here. She has shown a great commitment to this area and has spent a considerable amount of time working on the report. I commend her for coming here at her own expense to show her commitment and loyalty to the Council of Europe.

Any form of match fixing, whether it is in football, cricket, rugby, boxing or wrestling, is a betrayal of the loyalty of genuine fans. Online betting and the whole field of betting throughout the world gives rise to multi-million-pound fraud in the manipulation and fixing of games. It is absolutely vital that this matter is investigated by an international organisation, as initiated here by the Council of Europe. The details provided by the rapporteurs and by Ms Cecilia Keaveney show that match fixing represents a clear and present danger to the integrity of sport in Europe; indeed, it is the subject of over 60 national police investigations. We do not have any experience of it in Ireland so far, but throughout the world it represents a damaging situation.

FIFA has come in for justifiable criticism as a $1 billion industry with 24 men on the governing council and seven insiders. Surely women, who enjoy sport as much as men, should be represented in this organisation. It is totally biased against the participation of women and totally undemocratic because women do not have a voice in this regard. I recommend that FIFA accept the presence of Ms Cecilia Keaveney on its board if it is willing to have somebody with integrity who is prepared to question its ethics in sport.

I am delighted to be here today to recommend these reports to the Assembly. I know that they will be unanimously accepted, but I hope that they will not be ignored in future and that we will continue to scrutinise very closely the activities of sporting organisations. In particular, we must draw attention to the dangers of match fixing and, as Ms Keaveney explained to me, the dangers involved in bets on particular incidents in a game, on how the game turns out, and even on how long the game lasts.

Thank you very much for hearing my point of view. I welcome both reports and commend the rapporteurs for their excellent work in this regard.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Ms Pelkonen.

Ms PELKONEN (Finland) – Exercise has a substantial impact on the physical, psychological and social development of the individual. Through physical activities, we pass on the values and the models of our societies to our children.

The message of the report therefore worries me. The ever-increasing role of equipment and the commercialisation of sport and sporting events are clear threats to the basic role of sport. The report makes it clear that, as sporting events have developed into a matter of business, doping has become rooted among sports enthusiasts. The focus is no longer on the joy of exercising or the promotion of one’s health, but on risking one’s health for short-term wins.

The increasing phenomenon of exercising for money results in sports-related hobbies being professionalised at an early age. Children, who are meant to play and move easily, become part of a machine with the aim of training them to become top athletes in different competitions to make money for betting agencies – and I am talking only about those lucky few who can actually afford to take part in sport.

Several studies show that top athletes are created not through breeding but through promoting different exercise habits. Exercise is supposed to be fun and bring with it a feeling of joy and well-being. That goal should be promoted for all children. Every child should exercise for him or herself, not for the aim of winning.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Ms Virolainen.

Ms VIROLAINEN (Finland) – Fair play is crucial to sport. Finland has taken that further by establishing the principle of “everybody plays”, which is widely used in most sports clubs. It is supported, but also criticised. Clearly, talented young athletes aiming for the top need specific support, encouragement and opportunities for advancement, but on the other hand the joy of exercising belongs to every child and young person, regardless of their skills and goals.

Several studies show that a supportive atmosphere and the presence of a protective adult strengthen the independence of children and young people. Exercising together is also a great way of preventing exclusion and marginalisation, and of creating a feeling of togetherness – the so-called “locker room spirit”.

According to the recommendations, all seven to 18-year-olds should exercise for one to two hours a day. Structured exercise is efficient and teaches many skills. At its best, it encourages children and young people to be active. Unfortunately, many do not exercise at all.

Finland has a programme, “Improving Basic Education”. It has led to many good things and has invigorated club activities. More than 12 000 hobby clubs have been established in our schools. That guarantees at least one hobby per child. Our specific aim is to increase the number of voluntary sports clubs in schools. For some, it is easy to find a hobby, but for others it is not. Some risk becoming marginalised at an early age, and it is up to us adults to be especially alert to that and active in preventing it. Having a hobby should not be a question of money. The essential aspect is discovering the joy of exercise. A child with good hobbies benefits the whole of society.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. The last speaker on the list is Mr Moriau, but he is not here, so that concludes the list of speakers.

I call Mr Rochebloine to reply. You have two minutes.

Mr ROCHEBLOINE (France) thanked the President and the speakers for their contributions. Measures requiring financial fair play were necessary, and new legislation was required.

Mr Hancock was right to say that clubs had a responsibility to their supporters, but supporters had to respect their clubs in return. The violence seen at some football matches was particularly relevant in that respect.

Comments made had highlighted the point that problems were not limited to professional sport, and amateur sport was not always exemplary. There was a danger that clubs could fail where players demanded excessive salaries.

In relation to FIFA, the committee had called a spade a spade. While football was on the front line, it was not the only sport experiencing problems. FIFA’s comments to the committee had been taken into consideration as the report had been produced. Mr Reimann had been right to say that corruption had to be combated within sports bodies and while FIFA was not explicitly mentioned in the resolution that did not mean that it was not included.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Ms Brasseur to reply. You have three minutes.

Ms BRASSEUR (Luxembourg) thanked the President and those who had spoken. She was grateful for their support for the draft resolution and draft recommendation. Ms Zhurova was to be congratulated as a former Olympic speed-skating champion. Ms Zhurova was now part of the political establishment, and members would enjoy basking in her reflected glory.

What was ultimately needed was a convention. The committee had considered calling for an international anti-doping agency, but that had been considered too expensive and cumbersome. A convention was therefore the best approach. The recommendation included a reference to the need for nations to implement regulatory machinery to govern betting. Such measures would go a long way to resolving the issues.

It was necessary to safeguard sport, both amateur and professional, and to support sports federations. Volunteers who enabled sport to function deserved great thanks, and the importance of support for fans and supporters, without whose dedication there could be no sport, was of some note.

The independence and autonomy of sport had to be protected, but sports federations could not do everything alone. Instruments were required to protect sport and to ensure that the rule of law applied.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. Does the chairperson of the committee, Mr Flego, wish to speak? You have two minutes.

Mr FLEGO (Croatia) – Sport is an activity that encompasses an enormous number of people, as players, competitors or spectators. That makes sport a societal phenomenon and an activity of public interest. Such an activity needs to be well regulated and correctly governed. Nowadays, it operates under partly commercialised and partly marketised conditions. Apart from competition and personal reputation, sport is ever more an arena of high financial profit, where a huge amount of private and public funds circulates. The circulation of large amounts of money needs to be carefully regulated.

Match fixing is a fraud that is well organised, often by international crime networks and organisations. The ever larger amounts of money and ever stronger crime organisations involved place ever more pressure on sportsmen from all disciplines to agree to fix results and in so doing produce an illusion – a false reality. The morality that should steer relations between all humans obliges us to play fairly. The rule of law demands that we disable fraud of all kinds and eradicate all kinds of dictatorship by crime organisations. That should be done in sport by a well-co-ordinated team of all those who are interested in sport and the welfare of society.

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you, Mr Flego. The debate is now closed.

We will first deal with the report “Good governance and ethics in sport”. The Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media has presented a draft resolution, Document 12889, to which three amendments have been tabled.

I understand that the chairperson of the committee wishes to propose to the Assembly that all three amendments tabled, which were unanimously approved by the committee, should be declared as agreed by the Assembly under Rule 33.11.

Is that so, Mr Flego?

Mr FLEGO (Croatia) – It is so.

THE PRESIDENT – It is so. Does anyone object? That is not the case.

As there is no objection, I declare that Amendments 1, 2 and 3 to the draft resolution are agreed.

The following amendments have been adopted:

Amendment 1, tabled by the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media, which is, in the draft resolution, at the end of paragraph 6.1, to add the following words: “, authorising it, inter alia, to undertake, on its own initiative and at any point, internal investigations, including with regard to former officials, and ensuring that the arrangements for electing its members guarantee the Committee’s full independence;”.

Amendment 2, tabled by the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media, which is, in the draft resolution, at the end of paragraph 6.2, to add the following words: “, and in particular the decision of 11 May 2010 which suspended the criminal proceedings initiated by the Zug prosecution service against two natural persons and FIFA;”.

Amendment 3, tabled by the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media, which is, in the draft resolution, to replace paragraph 6.3 with the following sub-paragraph:

“hold a detailed and exhaustive internal investigation in order to determine whether, and to what extent, during the latest campaign for the office of President, the elected candidate exploited his institutional position to obtain unfair advantages for himself or for potential voters.”

We will now proceed to vote on the draft resolution contained in Document 12889, as amended.

The vote is open.

The draft resolution in Document 12889, as amended, is adopted, with 95 votes for, 1 against and 2 abstentions.

We now come to the report “The need to combat match-fixing”. The Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media has presented a draft resolution and a draft recommendation, Document 12891, to which no amendments have been tabled.

We will now proceed to vote on the draft resolution contained in Document 12891.

The vote is open.

The draft resolution in Document 12891 is adopted, with 104 votes for, 0 against and 1 abstention.

We will now proceed to vote on the draft recommendation contained in Document 12891. I remind members that the adoption of a draft recommendation requires a two-thirds majority of the votes cast.

The vote is open.

The draft recommendation in Document 12891 is adopted, with 100 votes for, 0 against and 4 abstentions.

2. Date, time and agenda of the next sitting

THE PRESIDENT – The Assembly will hold its next public sitting this afternoon at 3.30 p.m. with the agenda that has already been agreed.

The sitting is closed.

(The sitting was closed at 12.15 p.m.)

CONTENTS

1       Joint debate on good governance and ethics in sport and the need to combat match fixing

Presentation by Mr Rochebloine of report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media, Document 12889 and addendum, and by Ms Brasseur of report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media, Document 12891

Speakers:

Mr Santini (Italy)

Ms Ohlsson (Sweden)

Mr Hancock (United Kingdom)

Mr Loukaides (Cyprus)

Mr Fournier (France)

Mr Frècon (France)

Ms Graham (Norway)

Ms Bugnano (Italy)

Ms Blondin (France)

Mr R Farina (Italy)

Ms Huovinen (Finland)

Mr Knyshov (Russian Federation)

Mr Vejkey (Hungary)

Mr Marquet (Monaco)

Mr Sheridan (United Kingdom)

Mr Wach (Poland)

Mr Kucheida (France)

Ms Gafarova (Azerbaijan)

Ms Marin (France)

Mr Reimann (Switzerland)

Mr McNamara (Ireland)

Mr Falzon (Malta)

Ms Zhurova (Russian Federation)

Mr Connarty (United Kingdom)

Mr Sudarenkov (Russian Federation)

Mr Haupert (Luxembourg)

Mr Leyden (Ireland)

Ms Pelkonen (Finland)

Ms Virolainen (Finland)

Replies:

Mr Rochebloine (France)

Ms Brasseur (Luxembourg)

Mr Flego (Croatia)

Amendments 1, 2 and 3 to the draft resolution in Document 12889 adopted

Draft resolution in Document 12891 adopted

Draft recommendation in Document 12891 adopted

2.        Date, time and agenda of the next sitting

APPENDIX

Representatives or Substitutes who signed the Attendance Register in accordance with Rule 11.2 of the Rules of Procedure. The names of Substitutes who replaced absent Representatives are printed in small letters. The names of those who were absent or apologised for absence are followed by an asterisk.

Francis AGIUS*

Pedro AGRAMUNT

Arben AHMETAJ*

Alexey Ivanovich ALEKSANDROV/Yury Solonin

Miloš ALIGRUDIĆ*

José Antonio ALONSO/Delia Blanco

Karin ANDERSEN

Donald ANDERSON*

Florin Serghei ANGHEL*

Khadija ARIB*

Mörður ÁRNASON

Francisco ASSIS*

Þuriður BACKMAN*

Daniel BACQUELAINE/Ludo Sannen

Viorel Riceard BADEA*

Gagik BAGHDASARYAN*

Pelin Gündeş BAKIR

Gerard BARCIA DUEDRA

Doris BARNETT*

José Manuel BARREIRO*

Deniz BAYKAL

Marieluise BECK*

Alexander van der BELLEN

Anna BELOUSOVOVÁ*

José María BENEYTO*

Deborah BERGAMINI*

Robert BIEDROŃ

Grzegorz BIERECKI/Marek Borowski

Gülsün BİLGEHAN*

Oksana BILOZIR

Brian BINLEY

Roland BLUM

Jean-Marie BOCKEL

Eric BOCQUET*

Olena BONDARENKO

Olga BORZOVA

Mladen BOSIĆ*

António BRAGA

Anne BRASSEUR

Márton BRAUN

Federico BRICOLO/ Paolo Grimoldi

Ankie BROEKERS-KNOL

Piet DE BRUYN*

Patrizia BUGNANO

André BUGNON/Maximilian Reimann

Natalia BURYKINA/Valeriy Zerenkov

Sylvia CANEL*

Mevlüt ÇAVUŞOĞLU

Mikael CEDERBRATT

Otto CHALOUPKA*

Vannino CHITI/Paolo Corsini

Christopher CHOPE

Lise CHRISTOFFERSEN

Desislav CHUKOLOV*

Lolita ČIGĀNE*

Boriss CILEVIČS

James CLAPPISON

Ms Deirdre CLUNE*

M. Georges COLOMBIER

Agustín CONDE*

Titus CORLĂŢEAN*

Igor CORMAN

Telmo CORREIA*

Carlos COSTA NEVES*

Cristian DAVID*

Joseph DEBONO GRECH*

Giovanna DEBONO/ Joseph Falzon

Armand De DECKER/Dirk Van Der Maelen

Arcadio DÍAZ TEJERA

Peter van DIJK

Klaas DIJKHOFF*

Şaban DİŞLİ

Karl DONABAUER/Edgar Mayer

Daphné DUMERY*

Alexander (The Earl of) DUNDEE*

Josette DURRIEU/Maryvonne Blondin

Baroness Diana ECCLES*

József ÉKES*

Tülin ERKAL KARA

Gianni FARINA

Nikolay FEDOROV

Relu FENECHIU*

Vyacheslav FETISOV/Vladimir Zhidkikh

Doris FIALA/Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter

Daniela FILIPIOVÁ*

Axel E. FISCHER*

Jana FISCHEROVÁ/Tomáš Jirsa

Gvozden Srećko FLEGO

Paul FLYNN*

Stanislav FOŘT*

Hans FRANKEN

Jean-Claude FRÉCON

Erich Georg FRITZ*

Martin FRONC

György FRUNDA

Giorgi GABASHVILI*

Alena GAJDŮŠKOVÁ

Sir Roger GALE*

Jean-Charles GARDETTO

Tamás GAUDI NAGY

Valeriu GHILETCHI

Sophia GIANNAKA*

Paolo GIARETTA*

Michael GLOS*

Obrad GOJKOVIĆ*

Jarosław GÓRCZYŃSKI

Svetlana GORYACHEVA*

Martin GRAF

Sylvi GRAHAM

Andreas GROSS

Arlette GROSSKOST/Alain Cousin

Dzhema GROZDANOVA*

Attila GRUBER*

Antonio GUTIÉRREZ

Ana GUŢU

Carina HÄGG

Sabir HAJIYEV

Andrzej HALICKI*

Mike HANCOCK

Margus HANSON

Davit HARUTYUNYAN*

Håkon HAUGLI/Anette Trettebergstuen

Norbert HAUPERT

Oliver HEALD

Alfred HEER

Olha HERASYM'YUK

Andres HERKEL/Ester Tuiksoo

Adam HOFMAN*

Serhiy HOLOVATY

Jim HOOD/Michael Connarty

Joachim HÖRSTER

Anette HÜBINGER*

Andrej HUNKO

Susanna HUOVINEN

Ali HUSEYNLI/Sahiba Gafarova

Rafael HUSEYNOV

Stanisław HUSKOWSKI*

Shpëtim IDRIZI*

Željko IVANJI

Igor IVANOVSKI*

Tadeusz IWIŃSKI

Denis JACQUAT/Bernard Fournier

Roman JAKIČ

Ramón JÁUREGUI*

Michael Aastrup JENSEN*

Mats JOHANSSON/Kerstin Lundgren

Birkir Jón JÓNSSON/Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson

Armand JUNG

Antti KAIKKONEN/Sirkka-Liisa Anttila

Ferenc KALMÁR

Božidar KALMETA*

Mariusz KAMIŃSKI*

Michail KATRINIS*

Burhan KAYATÜRK

Bogdan KLICH*

Haluk KOÇ

Igor KOLMAN

Tiny KOX/Tuur Elzinga

Marie KRARUP*

Borjana KRIŠTO

Václav KUBATA

Pavol KUBOVIČ*

Jean-Pierre KUCHEIDA

Dalia KUODYTĖ

Ertuğrul KÜRKÇÜ

Athina KYRIAKIDOU

Henrik Sass LARSEN/Mette Reissmann

Igor LEBEDEV

Jean-Paul LECOQ

Harald LEIBRECHT*

Terry LEYDEN

Inese LĪBIŅA-EGNERE

Yuliya LIOVOCHKINA*

Lone LOKLINDT

François LONCLE/Rudy Salles

Jean-Louis LORRAIN

George LOUKAIDES

Younal LOUTFI*

Saša MAGAZINOVIĆ

Philippe MAHOUX*

Gennaro MALGIERI

Nicole MANZONE-SAQUET/Bernard Marquet

Pietro MARCENARO*

Milica MARKOVIĆ

Muriel MARLAND-MILITELLO

Meritxell MATEU PI

Pirkko MATTILA

Frano MATUŠIĆ*

Liliane MAURY PASQUIER

Michael McNAMARA

Sir Alan MEALE

Ermira MEHMETI DEVAJA/Sonja Mirakovska

Evangelos MEIMARAKIS*

Ivan MELNIKOV/Alexander Sidyakin

Nursuna MEMECAN

José MENDES BOTA

Dragoljub MIĆUNOVIĆ*

Jean-Claude MIGNON/Christine Marin

Dangutė MIKUTIENĖ

Akaki MINASHVILI*

Krasimir MINCHEV*

Federica MOGHERINI REBESANI*

Andrey MOLCHANOV/Alexander Ter-Avanesov

Jerzy MONTAG*

Patrick MORIAU*

João Bosco MOTA AMARAL

Arkadiusz MULARCZYK

Alejandro MUÑOZ-ALONSO

Lydia MUTSCH

Philippe NACHBAR*

Adrian NĂSTASE*

Mr Gebhard NEGELE*

Pasquale NESSA*

Fritz NEUGEBAUER

Baroness Emma NICHOLSON*

Elena NIKOLAEVA/Svetlana Zhurova

Tomislav NIKOLIĆ*

Aleksandar NIKOLOSKI*

Carina OHLSSON

Joseph O'REILLY

Sandra OSBORNE/Charles Kennedy

Nadia OTTAVIANI

Liliana PALIHOVICI

Vassiliki PAPANDREOU/Elsa Papadimitriou

Eva PARERA

Ganira PASHAYEVA

Peter PELLEGRINI*

Lajla PERNASKA*

Johannes PFLUG

Alexander POCHINOK

Ivan POPESCU

Lisbeth Bech POULSEN*

Marietta de POURBAIX-LUNDIN

Cezar Florin PREDA*

Lord John PRESCOTT/ Jim Dobbin

Jakob PRESEČNIK/Andreja Crnak Meglič

Gabino PUCHE*

Alexey PUSHKOV*

Valeriy PYSARENKO/Volodymyr Pylypenko

Valentina RADULOVIĆ-ŠĆEPANOVIĆ/Zoran Vukčević

Elżbieta RADZISZEWSKA*

Mailis REPS/Paul-Eerik Rummo

Andrea RIGONI*

François ROCHEBLOINE

Maria de Belém ROSEIRA*

René ROUQUET

Marlene RUPPRECHT*

lir RUSMALI*

Armen RUSTAMYAN*

Branko RUŽIĆ*

Volodymyr RYBAK*

Rovshan RZAYEV

Džavid ŠABOVIĆ*

Giacomo SANTINI

Giuseppe SARO*

Kimmo SASI/Jaana Pelkonen

Stefan SCHENNACH

Marina SCHUSTER*

Urs SCHWALLER

Senad ŠEPIĆ

Samad SEYIDOV*

Jim SHERIDAN

Mykola SHERSHUN/Oleksiy Plotnikov

Adalbi SHKHAGOVEV/Alexey Knyshov

Robert SHLEGEL/Anvar Makhmutov

Ladislav SKOPAL

Leonid SLUTSKY*

Serhiy SOBOLEV

Roberto SORAVILLA*

Maria STAVROSITU

Arūnė STIRBLYTĖ

Yanaki STOILOV*

Fiorenzo STOLFI

Christoph STRÄSSER*

Karin STRENZ*

Giacomo STUCCHI

Valeriy SUDARENKOV

Björn von SYDOW

Petro SYMONENKO*

Vilmos SZABÓ*

Melinda SZÉKYNÉ SZTRÉMI/Imre Vejkey

Chiora TAKTAKISHVILI

Giorgi TARGAMADZÉ*

Dragan TODOROVIĆ

Romana TOMC

Lord John E. TOMLINSON

Latchezar TOSHEV*

Petré TSISKARISHVILI*

Mihai TUDOSE*

Ahmet Kutalmiş TÜRKEŞ

Tuğrul TÜRKEŞ

Konstantinos TZAVARAS*

Tomáš ÚLEHLA*

Ilyas UMAKHANOV/Boris Shpigel

Giuseppe VALENTINO/Renato Farina

Miltiadis VARVITSIOTIS*

Stefaan VERCAMER

Anne-Mari VIROLAINEN

Luigi VITALI*

Luca VOLONTÈ

Vladimir VORONIN/Grigore Petrenco

Tanja VRBAT/Ivan Račan

Konstantinos VRETTOS*

Klaas de VRIES*

Nataša VUČKOVIĆ

Piotr WACH

Johann WADEPHUL*

Robert WALTER*

Katrin WERNER*

Renate WOHLWEND*

Karin S. WOLDSETH/Øyvind Vaksdal

Gisela WURM

Karl ZELLER*

Kostiantyn ZHEVAHO

Emanuelis ZINGERIS

Guennady ZIUGANOV

Naira ZOHRABYAN*

Vacant Seat, Cyprus*

ALSO PRESENT

Reinette KLEVER

Maureen O'SULLIVAN

John Paul PHELAN

Martina SCHENK

Observers:

Ms Rosario GREEN MACÍAS

Hervé Pierre GUILLOT

Mr Valentin GUZMÁN SOTO

Partners for democracy:

Walid ASSAF

Najat ALASTAL

Qais KHADER

Bernard SABELLA