Urheilu reported over the weekend that the Jääkiekkoliitto had rejected the equality commissioner’s reconciliation proposal related to suspected and reported cases of racism in junior hockey games.
Earlier this year, the Commissioner for Equality demanded an explanation of the cases from the Ice Hockey Association.
Last fall, a player of the Lahti Pelicans U13 junior team told his coach at the end of the match that he was the target of a racist insult. Team coach Juha Sokka told about the incident in the Urheiluhullut program.
The Commissioner for Equality took a position on the case in January. The Commissioner for Equality demanded an investigation into two other cases in which the same junior player from Lahti had faced racist behavior in a hockey match.
The equality commissioner finally made a settlement proposal in the case, which the junior hockey player in question, his guardian and coach Sokka accepted as reasonable.
The Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation rejected the proposal and referred the case to a law firm.
The Equality Commissioner proposed that the Ice Hockey Federation should apologize, correct practices and pay compensation for discrimination against a junior player and prohibited countermeasures against a junior coach.
That’s how the CEO of the Ice Hockey Federation saw it Sami Kauhanen answered Urheilu’s questions by email.
According to Urheilu’s information, the Jääkiekkioliitto has rejected the equality commissioner’s reconciliation proposal related to suspected and reported cases of racism in junior hockey games. Where are we going with this at the moment?
– We investigated the case thoroughly and have not found evidence that a racist insult was committed by another player in the game in question. According to what they said and the reports they prepared in the case, neither of the referees of the match heard the alleged racist insult directed at the other player. In the case, there is only word for word of two young players.
– According to general legal principles, in such a situation, naturally, disciplinary sanctions cannot be imposed for racist insults. It is important to be aware that the other party in this case is also a child, whose legal protection must also be fulfilled.
– If, based on our report, it had been possible to prove that the matter had happened, we would definitely have taken appropriate measures.
– After the settlement proposal made by the equality commissioner, we made our own settlement proposal in the matter and announced that we are still ready to discuss the amicable solution of the matter. We therefore hope that the discussion between the parties in the matter would continue.
Why did you reject this settlement proposal presented by the Equality Commissioner? What about its terms influenced your decision?
– In his settlement proposal, the Equality Commissioner started from the fact that the Jääkiekkoliitto has violated the prohibition of indirect discrimination according to Section 13 of the Equality Act and the prohibition of prohibited countermeasures stipulated in Section 16 of the Act.
– In its own decision on the matter, the Sports Legal Security Board had stated that in this case, the content of the Equality Act and the related decision-making practice have not been shown to be unambiguous and uncontroversial in such a way that the disciplinary sanction imposed on the team’s coach could be considered contrary to the Equality Act.
– We therefore asked external experts to evaluate on our behalf whether our actions were in violation of the Equality Act. The final result of the experts’ assessment was that the Ice Hockey Federation has not violated the Equality Act.
The Jääkiekkoliitto told that the association had submitted its own settlement proposal and you were willing to mediate the matter. What did your proposal include?
– The Ice Hockey Federation apologizes to the player for not having been consulted personally in the disciplinary process, which has investigated the suspected racist insult against him in the match
– The Ice Hockey Association regrets that there have been shortcomings in the refereeing of the match.
– The Ice Hockey Federation commits to increasing instructions and training for referees about suspected discrimination situations. The Ice Hockey Federation undertakes to evaluate the development needs of its disciplinary system.
Did your proposal clearly differ from the equality commissioner’s proposal?
– The main difference is that since the Ice Hockey Federation has not acted in violation of the Equality Act, we do not consider it justified and fair that the Ice Hockey Federation would pay damages in this case.
In this case, the Ice Hockey Federation has previously invoked its competition rules. What do you think makes this case problematic?
– The most fundamental and significant question in this matter is how equality legislation should be applied and what it obliges organizations operating in the field of sports to do. As we stated earlier, the equality commissioner and experts have different views on this issue.
– Both hockey and all other players in sports certainly want to do the right thing in matters of equality.
– From the point of view of both those operating in the field of sports and all other associations, it would be important that there would be no conflict between equality legislation and the right to association, and that it would be clear to everyone how to act in different situations. More joint discussion is needed on this.
Both an apology and monetary compensation were mentioned in the terms of the equality commissioner’s settlement proposal. Looking at the first mentioned condition, do you think that apology to the players and coach involved in the case was too much?
– In his presentation, the Commissioner for Equality did not specify what kind of apology it would be.
– Our more detailed settlement proposal therefore includes an apology for the fact that the player has not been consulted personally in the disciplinary process, where the suspected racist insult against him has been investigated.
To a layman’s eyes, this whole situation must seem a bit peculiar. How do you think this affects the image of the Ice Hockey Association?
– We understand that the situation looks special and it will certainly have an effect on the image of the Ice Hockey Association. On the other hand, we also have the responsibility to act in accordance with our rules in all matters and thereby ensure equal treatment for all parties in disciplinary cases.
How do you think the Ice Hockey Federation should deal with racist shouting at its events?
– The ice hockey association has zero tolerance towards discrimination. The valid competition rules of the ice hockey association require the association’s members and their members to commit to anti-discrimination activities.
– In addition, in their actions on the ice, the players are committed to follow the appropriate procedure for a player on the ice, which is stipulated in the competition rules of the Ice Hockey Association.
– We have specified the existing guidelines for discriminatory behavior immediately after the events of the match. The guidelines for discriminatory behavior compiled for referees, teams and officials provide ready-made models of action to intervene in discriminatory behavior in the stands or on the rink during a game event, and at the same time they ensure that the matches can be played through. In the future, the instructions will be included in, among other things, team leader and referee trainings.
How do you think the Ice Hockey Federation can prevent these cases from happening in the future?
– The key is long-term educational work to eradicate all kinds of inappropriate behavior from the entire Finnish society. The Ice Hockey Federation and its clubs are committed to doing their own significant part in this matter and e.g. right at the beginning of the next season, we will implement new measures together with the clubs. Measures in this matter are naturally needed from all actors in social life, not only from the Ice Hockey Association.
The Ice Hockey Federation has publicly recorded its values on its website as follows:
The shared values of the hockey family are respect, community, fun and the pursuit of excellence. Respect can be seen in all actions on and off the field, whether it is respecting the opponent or following common rules.
How do you think these values appear in relation to this case?
– Since, based on our investigations, we do not know what happened in practice between the two players, it is difficult to assess this individual case in detail. On a more general level, it can be stated that we still have a lot to do in the realization of our values in everyday hockey activities. Our intentions and policies are clear, but a lot of work still needs to be done to make them come true in all situations. We last discussed this need for change last weekend at the Jääkieksliitto’s federal council meeting.