The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has called on member states to guarantee freedom of expression in sport, highlighting a number of challenges in that area, including restrictions on journalistic access, contractual limitations, growing control of content by rights holders, intimidation and harassment, legal pressure and gender inequalities within sports media.
The background to this issue is the "profound transformation of the media environment", which has been driven by digitalisation. The has affected sports journalism, which remains highly dependent on access to events, athletes and institutions, the parliamentarians underlined.
Danger to media coverage of major competitions
The resolution, adopted on the basis of a report by Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen (Norway, EPP/CD), emphasises that these developments "may further affect the ability of journalists to report freely and independently across a range of major competitions and high-profile international events," such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Parliamentary Assembly has called on member states to guarantee freedom of expression and freedom of information in sport, and in particular "to review legal and regulatory frameworks on broadcasting rights, accreditation systems and contractual arrangements" so that they do not restrict journalistic activity or the public's right to information.
Furthermore, it called on states to guarantee practical, fair and non-discriminatory access for journalists to sporting events, athletes and relevant institutions; to support investigative journalism in sport; and to combat intimidation, harassment and violence against sports journalists, both online and offline.
Under the adopted resolution, sports organisations, federations and event organisers must also recognise media freedom as "a core element of good governance in sport".
Finally, the Parliamentary Assembly proposed that the Committee of Ministers "reinforce the Council of Europe's standard-setting and monitoring work on media freedom in sport", building on the European Convention on Human Rights, the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, the European Sports Charter, and various recommendations of the Committee of Ministers.
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