Sport and politics

A Sports Consob to safeguard its autonomy

Positive reactions after the meeting with Minister for Sport Abodi. Balata (Serie B): the aim is to create an independent authority

by Marco Bellinazzo

9 May 2024

5' min read

Key points

The position of the Figc
League of Serie A
League of Serie B

5' min read

The general impression is that the issue of the agency to be set up to control the accounts of professional clubs has (for the moment) returned to the realm of institutional confrontation. At the outcome of the afternoon meeting in the offices of the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, the declarations of the protagonists appear to be marked by cautious optimism on the possibility of averting the creation of a government body that would undermine the principles of the autonomy of the sports system. The compromise solution could be to create a truly third and independent Authority, therefore not appointed by the government, on the model of Consob and Antitrust. In any case, the compatibility of a structure external to the sports world would have to be verified, given that the Covisoc and the auditing bodies in Europe currently operate within the sports ecosystem.

Minister Abodi's position

'I am satisfied with the meeting, during which all parties expressed their opinions and points of view. The text, which was forwarded to the Football Federation on Friday morning, represented a working hypothesis and as such it was meant to serve to open that confrontation, which today has found a point of fall and not a definitive document for approval. The meeting was an opportunity to explain the reasons that led us to imagine the constitution of this new authority - technical and independent - and to proceed with full respect for the autonomy of sport, which has always been among my priorities along with transparency, respect and fair competition. I have listened and collected the position and suggestions of all the components at the table. We will now proceed with the appropriate evaluations, before bringing the decree-law to one of the next Council of Ministers,' underlined the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi.

The position of the Figc

A third and independent authority whose constitution by decree-law obviously does not seem correct. "We have reiterated our absolute agreement on the objective that is common, that is, to give greater stability to economic and financial management, and there is absolutely no doubt about this. We do not agree with the instrument. We have reiterated that in the last 20 years Covisoc has worked not well but very well,' said Figc president Gabriele Gravina. He added: 'In the last 20 years we have only had two successful appeals to the TAR and two to the Council of State. We have asked the government to assist us, to help us and therefore, in addition to CONI, possibly the sports department could establish, as is happening in Spain, as is happening in England, principles to which we can adhere'. A concept taken up by the president of the Italian Basketball Federation Gianni Petrucci: 'We have expressed our considerations, something will be modified but let's see. The climate was collaborative, now the final text counts, but there was no controversy, only great civility'.

The FIGC's position is clear: a government-issued agency would be in clear conflict with the absolute prohibition of political interference in the FIGC's regulations and activities, enshrined in Articles 14 and 15 of the FIFA Statute, which all Federations must abide by, under penalty of possible sanctions. To this, taking into account that the activity inherent in the control of professional clubs and admissions to championships is subject to the careful supervision of CONI, there would also be an obvious conflict with rule 24.6 of the Olympic Charter, which requires CONI to preserve its autonomy and resist any kind of political pressure.

Gravina also raised doubts as to the conformity of the fundamental principle of the autonomy of the sporting order, historically sanctioned by the state system and reaffirmed by two pronouncements of the Constitutional Court (most recently with ruling 160/2019) and the Supreme Court. Moreover, it does not appear to be consistent with resolutions intervened at the European level which, to date, have always recognised the autonomy and specificity of the sports system (provided that the rules and measures adopted by it are respectful of the principle of proportionality and reasonableness), but have never recognised the possibility of intervention by governmental authorities in activities delegated to sports authorities. In this regard, the European Parliament has always supported UEFA in adopting uniform control instruments at European level. Last but not least, problems of implementation and compatibility with the federal regulatory system have also been listed in terms of time and sanctioning system.

The Serie A League

"The Lega Serie A remains opposed to the government agency, which is an interference of politics and the risks of interference are always negative, but minister Abodi has given time to discuss corrections," said president Lorenzo Casini. 'He has anticipated that the rule will be modified and has given us time to talk about it and propose some adjustments. We as the League will discuss it at the assembly on 15 May. Dialogues are in progress with Uefa and Fifa, but that is the job of the federal president'. With regards to the position taken by Juve, Inter, Milan and Roma, in which they said they did not feel represented by Casini at the institutional tables, the president explained: "There was a misunderstanding with the four bigs, the clubs are not against me, they only clarified that the document of 14 February approved in the Assembly was not all agreeable to them. We were astonished, perhaps they were afraid that that document would be used as a weapon to make proposals that were not shared, but that is not the way I operate'.

The Serie B League

The president of the Lega Serie B, Mauro Balata, also indicated what could be a compromise solution on the issue: an independent authority. "It will be developed through the establishment of an independent authority and not with the government agency. I have the unanimous mandate of my assembly to try precisely to support an initiative that tends to separate the entity that currently regulates and manages football from the control functions, as is the case throughout the civilised world, not just in sport. This is without taking anything away from the work that Covisoc has done to date'.

The Coni

"Authority? We have to read well. It seems to me that the parties are willing to read and then meet again,' Coni president Giovanni Malagò concluded. "Agency appointments by Coni? It is not in our interest to do so, we were the first to strip ourselves of a whole series of direct appointments. Everything must be verified according to the rules of the international world that govern sport'.