Cracking down on doping, violence in sports stadia

While promoting sports is mainly up to individual countries, the EU should initiate measures against doping, match-fixing and violence in sports stadia, Spanish Christian Democrat Santiago Fisas Ayxela says in a report, to be debated Wednesday and voted Thursday in plenary in Brussels.

The Lisbon Treaty gives the EU new competence in sports. This report is the first one on the subject by the EP. It proposes measures to crack down on sports-related violence and calls for new means to support mass participation sports.

Fair play on and off the pitch

Among the other proposals, the report calls for:

• trafficking in doping substances, match-fixing, illegal betting, and money laundering related to professional sports to be made criminal offences

• the creation of an EU database listing people banned from stadia to help crack down on violence

• better exchange of information on hooligans between member states to prevent their attending international matches

• revenues from audiovisual rights be distributed fairly between elite and mass participation sport

• betting operators should contribute to funding mass participation sport, as their commercial activity is linked to sports

In addition, the report says major sport events should not be broadcast on an exclusive basis. "Audiovisual rights should be obtained by the corresponding leagues and not directly by the clubs," Mr Fisas Ayxela said. "Sports event organisers should be able to sell audiovisual rights at a different price in the different member states."

The report also wants to strengthen the European identity in sport by:

• organising a European day of sports each year

• designating a European capital of sports each year

• setting up a European mobility programme for young athletes