TO PROTECT ATHLETES EFFECTIVELY AND ENSURE FAIR COMPETITION, THE FEI WITH THE HELP OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC), HAS DEVELOPED PROCESSES FOR RAISING AWARENESS, MONITORING, REPORTING AND INVESTIGATING ANY OCCURRENCES OF COMPETITION MANIPULATION IN EQUESTRIAN SPORT.

These processes aim to protect the credibility and the integrity of equestrian sport.

Keeping sport fair is a top priority for the IOC and for the FEI. As the manipulation of sports competitions has become an area of great concern in recent years within the sports world, the FEI remains committed to fighthing all forms of cheating that threatens both the integrity and the essence of sport.

Although equestrian sport does currently represent a low risk of competition manipulation according to the information gathered by the FEI, we should all keep working on preserving our sport clean and fair and all accredited people must know the rules, for example the prohibition of betting on the equestrian sport. 

This information concern not only the athletes and the officials but also the athletes' support personnel such as trainers, owners, grooms, veterinarians, etc that have an accreditation at an FEI Event.

TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES (from Mid-July to two weeks after the Closing Ceremony)

To report any breaches of the Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions during Tokyo 2020 you can either use:

- The IOC Integrity Hotline: The IOC Integrity and Compliance Hotline can be used to report any breaches of the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions in the Olympic Games, notably betting on one’s sport, sharing inside information, any successful/unsuccessful attempt of competition manipulation, corrupt conduct, and failure to report such information. The IOC Integrity and Compliance Hotline provides confidentiality and anonymity, and it is accessible at any time for anyone who wishes to report any of the aforementioned breaches in relation to equestrian events that take place at the Olympic/Youth Olympic Games and/or under the jurisdiction of the IOC Link: www.olympic.org/integrityhotline; or

- The Equestrian Community Integrity Unit (ECIU): see last section below. 

 

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AWARENESS RAISING AND CAPACITY BUILDING

Based on the IOC Campaign "Be True, Be you, Believe in Sport" the FEI take different actions to prevention the manipulation of FEI competitions.
 

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WHAT IS COMPETITION MANIPULATION?

Competition Manipulation is when an athlete or official or support personnel (trainers, owners, grooms, veterinarians or any other support personnel working with the athlete and with an accreditation to an E`FEI Event) cheats to remove the unpredictability of a competition. They may cheat to lose a competition or part of it, which is entirely against the sporting spirit.

Key issues related to competition manipulation include:

• A betting prohibition means that accredited persons are not allowed to bet on their competitions, disciplines or other competitions and disciplines in the Event in which it takes part.
   
• Inside information is all exclusive information (tactics, injuries, etc.) to which athletes, officials and support personnel have access. This information must be kept private, because it can be used for fraudulent betting purposes. Special care is needed for the social media where a lot of information can be posted and spread quickly to anyone. 
   
• Match-fixing is normally referred to as competition manipulation related to betting. It means any improper alteration of a competition to win money through sports betting or to ensure that a bettor (who may have offered a bribe) wins their bet. Betting-related competition manipulation can affect the result of a competition, but also other minor and marginal occurrences during its course, which is often referred to as spot-fixing.
   
• Tanking (deliberately losing) is to gain undue sporting advantage in a competition, for instance, when athletes lose an event on purpose to play easier opponents in the next phases of the competition.
   

• What is manipulation of competitions?

• Why people do it? 

 

EDUCATIONAL & LEARNING TOOLS

1. Code of Conduct. Is the communication tool for the Rules and an easy explanation in a graphic way of the key and basic aspects around manipulation of competitions.

2. E-Learning. A 10-minute e-learning programme is made available on FEI Campus for you  (within the FEI Essentials section). It contains an e-learning as well as a 10 question Quiz to check knowledge. The 10 questions are related to various topics such as Cheating, Betting, Inside Information and Obligation to report. A FEI Certificate will be delivered if you complete the quiz .

Athletes, Officials and Athletes' Support Personnel (which includes trainers, owners, grooms, veterinarians and any other support personnel working with the athlete and with an accreditation to tan FEI Event):

• Must not/are prohibited to bet on your own discipline or on any other disciplines or competitions of the Event. 
• Must not/are prohibited to manipulate a competition.
• Must not/are prohibited to share inside information.
• Must always report an approach to manipulate or anything suspicious.

You will find additional information on the FEI Campus and on the FEI Code on the Prevention of Manipulation of Competitions (Appendix G of the FEI General Regulations).

Anyone who encounters or suspects manipulation at any time is responsible and has the obligation to speak out.

Talk to someone you trust like your trainer, national federation or use the Equestrian Community Integrity Unit (ECIU) Hotline: /fei/about-fei/integrity

- ECIU Hotline: +44 (0) 20 7935 5822

- ECIU Email: report@equestrianintegrity.com

Likewise you can also contact the FEI Director Governance & Institutional Affairs (francisco.lima@fei.org)  

Important considerations:

• Confidentiality: your identity will not be disclosed to persons beyond those responsible for investigating your report, without explicit consent.

• Anonymity: any person can request to stay anonymous and such request will be respected by the FEI.

INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM (IBIS)

At some FEI Events the Integrity Betting Intelligence System (IBIS) of the IOC will be collecting and distributing to the FEI information and intelligence related to betting.

Any irregular pattern reported is analysed, with the support of national and international police forces, including INTERPOL. Should an irregular pattern be detected or serious suspicion raised, disciplinary actions could be taken by the FEI.

You can find more information about IBIS here.

INFORMATION SESSIONS

At some FEI Events the FEI will organise different actions to raise awareness.

The FEI General Assembly unanimously approved the introduction of the FEI Code for the prevention of manipulation of competitions at its General Assembly inTokyo in November 2016.
The FEI Code is included as Appendix G to the FEI General Regulations.
The FEI Code entered into force on 1 January 2017. 
In the FEI Code (APPENDIX G of the FEI General Regulations) you will find information about:

• What is not permitted and represents a violation of the Code;

• Details about the Disciplinary Procedure which includes the investigation process, rights of the concerned person, burden and standard of proof, confidentiality, anonymity of the person making a report and jurisdiction and appeal.

• Provisional measures;

• Sanctions.

The ECIU is a mechanism to protect integrity principles within the equestrian community, including, but not limited to the Clean Sport programme and betting or corruption risks.

The ECIU is responsible for investigating any integrity issues related to the FEI, Headquarters and all bodies whether volunteer or not. It also maintains a review power, as needed, over the General Assembly, FEI Bureau and FEI Executive Board.

Evidence collected by the ECIU relating to the integrity of FEI Events shall be admissible in any proceeding before any FEI body, including the Ground Jury, the Appeal Committee, and the FEI Tribunal or Court of Arbitration for Sport.

If you have concerns regarding integrity issues you can contact the ECIU:

Hotline: +44 (0) 20 7935 5822 

Email: report@equestrianintegrity.com

Important considerations:

• Confidentiality: your identity will not be disclosed to persons beyojn those responsible for investigating your report, without explicit consent.

• Anonymity: any person can request to stay anonymous and such request will be respected by the FEI.