Criminal Justice And Sports Justice Career

Criminal Justice and Sports Justice career

Introduction

Since 2003, after a season full of violent events in sports enclosures, the Government of Spain announced the intention to reformulate the Criminal Code. The objective was to give adequate treatment and set more strict sanctions for cases of sport violence. In practice, this decision was influenced by social pressures; Above all, after the serious incidents that occurred during a football match in Castellón, which ended aggressions to the referees and the death of Coruña fan Manuel Ríos Suárez.

However, much of civil society and its political representatives agreed with the need to reformulate the Spanish Criminal Code for different reasons. Among the reasons for these changes, there was the finding that violence in sport increased alarmingly, but it was not yet officially considered a crime according to laws with criminal content in Spain.

Developing

In the same year of 2003, the then Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, Pilar del Castillo, announced that the Government was taking due provisions to reformulate the Spanish Criminal Code. The new text that considered violence in sport was launched as a crime. In this sense, it should be noted that the understanding of violent acts in the sport would cover not only the actions that occurred within the playing fields, but also in its surroundings. This was an important advance in criminal law applicable to sport; Let’s not forget that until then it focused on the events that occurred only inside sports enclosures.

In fact, the official intention was to generate a modern and easily applicable text. It was about optimizing security strategies and measures in all public events in national territory. On the one hand, concrete penalties were set for the crimes of violence in sport; Strict obligations would also be imposed for security clubs during events organized in their properties.

From this reform in the Criminal Code, certain prison sentences of up to four years and six months would begin to be possible; This would apply for those who incur crimes related to violence in soccer sports venues. Another novelty, is that a deprivation of participation in public or sports shows of up to six years could also be imposed, according to the severity of the crime.

Violence in sport within the field of play in Spanish criminal law

Inappropriate or violent behaviors according to the rules of the game that occurred during competitions, usually undergo a sanctioning process conducted by sports justice organs that have disciplinary power.  In general, it is the federative disciplinary committees responsible for imparting sports justice in disciplinary terms. In the case of football, these processes are carried out by the Competition Committee, the Appeal Committee and the Unipersonal Judges; These organs guide their determinations according to the General Regulations and the RFEF Disciplinary Code.

After a first determination indicated by the referee during a match, the infractions are taken before the Competition Committee, which will review them to establish the appropriate sanctions according to the inappropriate behavior of each player and the game rules. Most cases of sport violence including football are treated in an administrative field within sports justice; Generally, a criminal sphere is not reached, as with the cases of violent acts between fans.

Injuries during sports competitions in criminal law

Injuries during sports competitions are an especially atypical case within Spanish criminal law. Mainly when the sanction determined at the administrative level seems not to account for the seriousness of the violent event that occurred in the sports field, and its consequences for the career and quality of life of the athlete.

conclusion

The complexity of these cases derives from the fact that sports injuries do not appear in criminal content laws in Spain. They are not even mentioned in the 428 regulatory article of the Criminal Code, which widely addresses the crimes of physical injuries, even dealing with very delicate issues in the field of health, such as organ transplants. Cases such as this reveal the limitations of the application of criminal law in the field of sport violence; mainly when violence occurs inside the field of play and the official Fair Play promotion regulations are challenged.