Hate Speech on and off the Field

During the EURO 2024 in Germany (14 June to 14 July), the UEFA has taken a series of sanctions against national football federations for inadequate statements of their fans and two players, based on the principle of neutrality of the sports movement. The principle prohibits any kind of political, religious or racial demonstration or propaganda in any sport site, venue or other area (Rule 50 of the Charter of the International Olympic Committee).

In the present contribution, the author argues that these sanctions can be considered justified in the light of the standards prescribed by the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”). However, in order to have an effective preventive effect, they should be paralleled by criminal investigations under domestic law. Two different scenarios can be distinguished: racist and nationalist statements made by players and those made by fans. The latter raises two different issues, namely the duty to refrain from endorsing such speech (1.) as well as the positive obligation to protect players against such speech (2.).

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