Following the acquittal of Alex Schwazer, the former Olympic champion in 50 km race walking, by a prosecutor in Bolzano, Italians demand international sport rehabilitates Alex Schwazer and let him compete at the Tokyo Olympics.

Pro cycling’s unfortunate Van Gansen decision has underscored a fatal flaw in sport, and shows that cycling – and all Olympic sports – must reconsider the concept of ‘the autonomy of sport’ in order to better protect athletes. UCI President David Lappartient has the opportunity to cement his legacy by taking the lead on this issue.

Play the Game and a number of partners will launch results of surveys into the governance of anti-doping in 11 countries during two online seminars 18-19 May.

Cricket is a growing sport in Europe and matches from new, small leagues are livestreamed all over the world. On the Indian subcontinent there is massive demand for betting on cricket, and match-fixers have been quick to capitalise on this new opportunity, reports Steve Menary.

The Council of Europa has begun a revision of the European Sports Charter that lays down the basic principles for national sports policies in member states. Human rights in sport is an important part of the process.

Because of COVID-19, Play the Game has decided to cancel its 2021 conference. Instead, all energy will be focused on planning a conference in Denmark in 2022 where Play the Game can celebrate its 25th anniversary. The 2023 conference is expected to be held in Trondheim, Norway.

How highly did the Russian sports authorities value the presumption of innocence as a legal principle when they decided to sack Yuriy Ganus, the former Director General of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency? Not much as Ganus demonstrates in his written comments to the audit report that was used as the basis for firing him.

An international group working under the auspices of the Council of Europe has produced a typology that offers actors working with sports integrity a new terminology for different ways of manipulating outcomes of sports matches.

Sports governance worldwide has had the legs knocked out from under it. Yet, national and international sports administrators are slow in realizing the magnitude of what has hit them.

An in-depth investigation by Andy Brown from Sports Integrity Initiative reveals the details about race walker and former Olympic Champion Alex Schwazer’s complex struggle with the antidoping system that has culminated with an Italian judge demanding an investigation of WADA and the IAAF.

The recent election of South African Patrice Motsepe as new president of the Confederation of African Football shows how FIFA continues to meddle in African football politics leaving little hope of much needed reforms.

Today, Thomas Bach has been re-elected as IOC President for a final four year term without any opponents or opposition. Using Bach’s doctoral thesis as a departure point, Jens Weinreich describes how constantly planning for the future has provided Bach with an unprecedented hold on power in the Olympic system.

When the Japanese people now faces dramatic cost overruns while preparing the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, they are not the first to learn a hard economic lesson. A recent academic study argues that the Olympic Games are naturally subject to severe cost overruns, while the IOC criticises the study for mixing budgets and attributing non-Olympic costs to the Olympic budget. This article examines claims and counter-claims in the debate about Olympic costs.

Hosting major sports tournaments can confer prestige on a country, but in the case of Egypt, the 2021 Handball World Championship will do little to repair its relations with the US, Italy and states in the Gulf, argues James M.Dorsey in this analysis.

The wounds in the international anti-doping community are unlikely to be healed after the Court of Arbitration for Sport put a legal end to six years of the Russian-international doping scandal. Was CAS under influence of the IOC, or is sports law not strong enough yet?

In a statement, the IOC appears to finally put an end to 23 years of loyal co-operation with the dictator of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. However, with its provisional measures the IOC is keeping the door open for Lukashenko and his allies to return to the Olympic fold.

Lawyer Sylvia Schenk adds her voice to the many calls on the IOC to clarify what it counts as a political statement for athletes, and to resolve its own dilemma in Belarus.

Organised crime is not the only driver behind match-fixing. Financial instability and unequal distribution of revenue in European football are other factors, explains Steve Menary and calls on sport authorities to help find solutions.