Carte blanche: what if supporters became the guarantors of morality in football? – national football

The broadcast of the report “Le Milieu du Terrain” on RTBF shocked us as environmentalists, but also and above all as football fans. The documentary throws light on the existence of amazing commissions, match-fixing and corrupt practices. The report raises serious questions about the governance model of Pro League clubs.

This dive into some of the darkest scenes in the world of football in Belgium shows just how much work remains to be done to put ethics at the center of sporting practice. Sport remains the mirror of society and unfortunately it does not escape these slippages.

However, this crisis very directly threatens the integrity of our sporting events as well as the popularity of football today. These faded practices make a fundamental attack on the spirit of fair play, which nonetheless is the essence of sporting competitions.

At the heart of the investigative journalists’ revelations is a central figure: the player agent. Over the past ten years, the latter’s role has evolved, particularly in terms of the relationships they maintain with the clubs.

In this context, it appears necessary to us that clubs no longer pay an agent directly and that the latter no longer play a role in negotiations between two clubs concerning the transfer of a player. It is the first fundamental lighthouse that is directly the responsibility of the associations and which makes possible the impunity of the “midfield” and the elimination of questionable practices.

As a priority, however, we believe that in the face of these revelations, the world of professional football must take a strong action to try to restore confidence in all those who will support their favorite team at the stadium every week. The latter are shaken and for many years have a feeling that something is missing in this football business.

A few weeks ago, a series of top European clubs in the name of profit intended to set up a project for the dissident European Super League. Eleven other European clubs wanted to set up a project of a European competition competing with the current Champions League, with twenty teams, fifteen of which would have been reserved for the founders each year.

The supporters then expressed their anger forcefully to the extent of certainly burying the ambitions of their leaders in this matter.

Such is the air of discord that Chelsea officials have allowed three fan representatives to attend their board meetings.

The role of these representatives will be “to ensure that the general sentiment of supporters is taken into account in the club’s decision-making process,” the club explained in a statement.

We believe that involving fans in the decision-making process of clubs is an essential beacon for breaking practices condemned by investigative journalists.

Transparency is needed than football lovers. If we do not doubt the sincere commitment of many leaders who actually predominate the interests of their clubs rather than greed, the fact remains that doubt lives through behavior and positions. In this context, what could be a better guarantor of a club’s genuine interests than an invested supporter?

Furthermore, in our opinion there is a form of urgency to develop a more economic model put in place by wealthy patrons at the European level who are in the process of transforming our ProLeague into a second-class exposure to the football business.

In 2020, in Scotland, the chairman of Glasgow Rangers entered into an agreement with a supporters club to sell his shares. These fans can thus oppose any transaction that the supporters consider bad and, therefore, protect their club.

It is in this context that we request a reflection within the Preamble so that all professional clubs can include supporters’ representatives in their decision-making bodies.

It also seems central to us that the Wallonia-Brussels Federation plays a motivating role in this new dynamic. It is indeed from the youngest and at all levels of sporting practice that ethics should be enforced as an absolute rule and made possible to avoid overflow at the highest levels.

The restoration of the necessary transparency and ethics in football will pass through this initial phase. This has been enjoyed by many clubs in Europe, on this basis Belgian football will have to write a new page in its glorious history.

Christophe Clercy

Pierre-Yves Lux

Situation-

supporters

Representative

The broadcast of the report “Le Milieu du Terrain” on RTBF shocked us as environmentalists, but also and above all as football fans. The documentary throws light on the existence of amazing commissions, match-fixing and corrupt practices. The report raises enormous questions about the Pro League’s club governance model, and this dive into the dark behind the scenes of the football world in Belgium shows how much work remains to be done to put ethics at the heart of sporting practice. Sport remains the mirror of society and unfortunately it is not untouched by these slippages. However, today this crisis very directly threatens the integrity of our sporting events as well as the popularity of football. These frivolous practices constitute a fundamental attack on the spirit of fair play which is nonetheless the essence of sporting competitions. At the heart of the revelations to investigative journalists, is a central figure: the player’s agent. Over the past ten years, the latter’s role has evolved, particularly in terms of the relationships they maintain with the clubs. In this context, it appears necessary to us that clubs no longer pay an agent directly and that the latter no longer play a role in negotiations between two clubs concerning the transfer of a player. It is the first fundamental lighthouse that is directly the responsibility of the associations and which will end the impunity and questionable practices of “midfields”. However, as a priority, we believe that in the face of these revelations, the world of professional football must take a strong action to try to restore confidence in all those who go to the stadium every week to support their favorite team. . The latter are shaken and for many years have a feeling that something is missing in this football business. A few weeks ago, a series of top European clubs in the name of profit intended to set up a project for the dissident European Super League. Eleven other European clubs wanted to set up a project of a European competition competing with the current Champions League, with twenty teams, fifteen of which would have been reserved for the founders each year. In this case the ambitions of its leaders for the betterment. The winds of discord were such that leaders in Chelsea allowed three representatives of supporters to attend meetings of its board of directors. “To ensure that there is a general feeling of supporters, the club’s decision-making processes are taken into account,” the club explained in a statement. We believe that involving fans in the decision-making process of clubs is an essential beacon for breaking practices condemned by journalists. Of scrutiny. Transparency is essential for round ball lovers. If we do not doubt the sincere commitment of many leaders who actually predominate the interests of their clubs rather than greed, the fact remains that doubt lives through behavior and positions. In this context, what could be a better guarantor of a club’s genuine interests than an invested supporter? Furthermore, in our opinion there is a form of urgency to develop a more economic model put in place by wealthy patrons at the European level who are in the process of transforming our ProLeague into a second-class exposure to the football business. In 2020, in Scotland, the chairman of Glasgow Rangers entered into an agreement with a supporters club to sell his shares. These fans can thus oppose any transaction that makes the supporters feel bad and, therefore, protect their club. In this context we request a reflection within ProLeague so that the entire professional club can integrate supporters’ representatives into itself. Decision making body We also believe that the Wallonia-Brussels Federation plays a leading role in this new dynamic. It is indeed from the youngest and at all levels of sporting practice that ethics should be enforced as an absolute rule and made possible to avoid overflow at the highest levels. Ethics in football will pass through this initial stage. Many clubs in Europe have taken this step, on this basis Belgian football will have to write a new page in its glorious history.