Parliament approved a new platform to prevent manipulation of results in sports

This Friday, Parliament broadly approved the government’s new legal regime for sport integrity, which provides a platform to prevent the manipulation of results, with the executive showing openness to improvements in the specialty.

This diploma was approved by the votes of all parties except Chegi and PKP, which abstained.

The proposed law establishes illegal acts and the corresponding disciplinary regime associated with “unsportsmanlike conduct that is contrary to the values ​​of truth, loyalty and correction, and is capable of fraudulently altering the results of competition.”

Among the measures enshrined in it, it is planned to create a platform for monitoring the manipulation of evidence, with experts appointed by the Attorney General’s Office, the Judicial Police, the Portuguese Olympic Committee and the Portuguese Football Federation, among others, ensuring coordination with the director of the anti-corruption unit of the joint venture.

In the debate leading up to the vote, the Secretary of State for Youth and Sport said the platform was a response to “one of the biggest threats to the integrity of sporting competitions”, referring to the “manipulation of results through bets and players”. , recalling both the double play process in the II Professional Football League and the recent illegal betting scandal in Italian football.

PS, in the voice of Paulo Correia, supported the merits of this proposal, since “it is essential that the security forces have the tools to fight those who distort the sport.”

The new regime is “a kind of world-class goalkeeper, Rui Patricio, who aims to stop agents from corrupting sporting events and criminal agents from scoring goals against Portugal. (…) The government is at the forefront of this relentless fight against corruption in sports,” he said.

Regarding the PSD, MP Paula Cardoso considered the “fight against corruption in sport” crucial, but defended the need to improve the diploma in the specialty, warning that there were concepts “difficult to interpret” that needed to be explained under pain of punishment if he became “dependent on any VAR » [videoárbitro] interpretive.”

IL MP Patricia Gilvas praised the proposal for “new legal offenses” but questioned whether there would be any overlap with already established offenses such as “passive and active corruption in the private sector” and stated that, in addition, By making laws, the government must protect and “ensure that the justice system works.”

In turn, PCP deputy Alma Rivera considered that the creation of this regime pursues “fundamental and just goals”, but expressed doubts about “certain technical aspects” and asked whether the new platform would create “more bureaucracy”, since these are already “ legal mechanisms and competent authorities for investigations and complaints.”

Regarding BE, MP Joana Mortagua said that, in addition to acting on the sporting phenomenon, we must also act “on the economic system,” warning that sport is “increasingly subject to the invasion of financial interests,” “more or less unclear.”

The vote also broadly approved a bill that would allow Olympic, Paralympic and elite athletes to benefit from a system of quotas and employment conditions after retirement, with only the PCP abstaining. in services and bodies of central, regional and local government.

The PAN Bill was also approved, making harassment a disciplinary offense in the legal regime of sports federations.

Conversely, Chegi’s draft resolution, which recommended that the government “ensure freedom of thought to all highly competitive athletes”, was rejected, as was the PAN draft resolution, which recognized National Paralympic Athletes Day on 26 September.