TO PROTECT THE SPORT 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.

This information concern not only the athletes and the officials but also the athletes' support personnel such as trainers, owners, grooms, veterinarians, etc and any accredited person ("Participants") at an FEI Event and at the Olympic Games.

It is the personal responsibility of each Participant to make themselves aware of the Code on the Prevention of Manipulation of Competitions including, without limitation, what conduct constitutes a violation of the Code and to comply with the Code's requirements.

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AWARENESS RAISING AND CAPACITY BUILDING

Based on the IOC Campaign "Believe in Sport", the FEI takes different actions to prevention the manipulation of competitions. Please note that the below also applies to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as per the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of Manipulation of 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 a FEI Event and Olympic Games) 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 sport-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 by IOC. In this course, you will learn more about competition manipulation as well as the risks involved in sports betting, and how to handle different situations in order to protect yourself and your sport.

Accredited persons at FEI Events and Olympic Games):

• Must not/are prohibited to bet on your own discipline or on any other disciplines or competitions of the Event or of the Games. 
• 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 Code on the Prevention of Manipulation of Competitions (Appendix G of the FEI General Regulations) and on the Olympic Movement Code of the Prevention of Manipulation of Competitions.

To report any breaches of the Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions during FEI Events or Games 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): 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. 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 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 and at the Olympic Games 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.

INFORMATIVE 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.