Introduction

Sports and, in particular, sporting events, have come a long way from the humble roots of simple gatherings, in which athletes can participate with the sole objective of winning the championship for glory and honour. It is undeniable that, in the past decade, world sport has become more complex, involving more stakeholders, and has entered a new dimension.

Testament to this evolution is the increased power and wealth of international sports organizations and governing bodies, many of which have their headquarters in Switzerland. International sports’ governing bodies, such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) contribute CHF 1.07 billion to the Swiss economy per year.

Another issue to be considered are the increasingly important – and potentially dramatic – consequences of an involvement in an event or an individual game play situation for the athlete involved. A false positive during a drug test conducted during the Olympic Games may cost an athlete his or her entire career.4 A wrongly denied goal costs top-striker Zlatan Ibrahimović a bonus of £ 143,000 – which he receives per goal scored.5 These facts, in turn, lead to a need for higher precision of referee decisions and clearer rules regarding participation and sanctions.

All this contributes to the increasing imbalance in power between sports’ governing bodies and their stakeholders, such as athletes, media, etc. Against this background, the importance of an adequate judicial or review system, which polices sports’ governing bodies, cannot be overstated.

This article analyses the legal structure applicable to sports’ governing bodies in Switzerland and considers whether these bodies are kept in check.