Protection of Relations in the Sphere of Sports: Distinguishing between Disciplinary Offenses and Criminal Offenses

The article examines the objects of criminal law protection in the sphere of sports and the criteria for distinguishing disciplinary offenses from criminal offenses. Drawing on formal legal and criminological analysis, the author shows that criminal interference in sports encroaches upon human health, the integrity of sports results, public order, and the property interests of market participants. Qualification problems are considered in the following areas: anti-doping violations (Articles 230.1, 230.2 and 184.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and their correlation with general offenses against personal health; corruption, including unlawful influence on the results of competitions (Article 184 of the Criminal Code), commercial bribery and bribery of officials; violence and coercion in the training process; crimes in the digital environment (match-fixing, manipulation of betting and broadcasts). A comprehensive approach to qualification is substantiated, under which the special sports-related offense is applied alongside the provisions protecting the individual and public order. The article formulates criteria for criminalizing violations in sports: actual harm to legally protected interests, the material nature of the encroachment on the integrity of the result, the socially dangerous nature of the method of the act, the use of the athlete’s dependent position, and the transnational nature of criminal schemes. It is concluded that the task of criminal law is not to replace disciplinary sports regulation, but to protect relations that cannot be effectively secured by disciplinary means alone; directions for the prevention of sports-related crime are proposed.

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