Legal coercion in sports: the “values” of sports organizations and the “interests” of subjects

This study aimed to raise the issue of the consolidation and application of values by sports organizations, which may differ from the interests pursued by the subjects of the respective sport. The features of international, continental, and national sports organizations lie in their status as regulators within the corresponding sports governance pyramid, which grants them the right to adopt and apply special measures of legal coercion against subordinate sports entities. The problem of a one-sided and unmotivated definition of the circle of values violates the principle of mutual recognition between the creators and addressees of sports law norms. The reason for the discrepancy between values and interests in global sports is due to the inclusion of non-traditional content, conditioned by a specific political ideology. One obvious example in recent years is the wrongful exclusion of Russian sports entities from international and continental competitions. Disalignment between values and interests can also arise not as a result of a sports organization intentionally disrupting communication with stakeholders to impose non-traditional values and destructive ideology, but rather due to its dominant position. These include FIFA’s prohibitions on “third-party influence on clubs” and “third-party ownership of footballers’ economic rights”. The search for a balance between values and interests should be carried out not only at the level of regulatory norms but also in the application of law by jurisdictional bodies and sports arbitration courts.