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A trainer in the Swiss trampoline sport is said to have abused children and young people for years. The ethics office then blocks them as a precautionary measure. A little later, the president of the next higher authority, the disciplinary chamber, lifted the ban. A decision he shouldn’t have made.
Three years ago, the Magglingen Protocols caused an earthquake in Swiss gymnastics. Artistic gymnasts reported years of abuse. Federal Councilor Viola Amherd then promised stronger controls and zero tolerance for ethics violations. Now research by SRF Investigativ shows: The system apparently works poorly.
In a current gymnastics case, the Swiss sports disciplinary body made a gross procedural error. The president of the disciplinary chamber, who lifted the ban on the trampoline trainer, has known the head of the affected training center privately for decades and should therefore have resigned when the suspension was lifted.
The President of the Disciplinary Chamber of Swiss Sports, Carl Gustav Mez, has known the manager of the affected Liestal training center for several decades. The two men belong to the same scout group, have sat together on the club’s most important committees for many years and see each other regularly. This is shown, among other things, by photos from the Scout archives and minutes from meetings. You are part of the Board of Trustees of the Scout Home, as well as a member of the Department Council – the highest governing body of this Scout.
“A walkout would have been mandatory”
For Benjamin Schindler, professor of procedural law at the University of St. Gallen, the president of the disciplinary chamber should have resigned from the decision to lift the suspension: “When two people see each other so often and work together on two committees over so many years , this indicates a personal relationship.”
The suspicion arises that the decision was not made impartially and unbiased.
Particularly problematic from the professor’s point of view: the two scout colleagues were in direct contact with each other about the matter. The manager of the training center personally signed the objection against the suspension of his head trainer, as documents show. The objection was addressed directly to his scout colleague, the president of the disciplinary chamber.
Reputation of the disciplinary body of Swiss sport is at risk
Benjamin Schindler refers to Article 47 of the Code of Civil Procedure in his assessment. This stipulates that a court person must resign only if they are suspected of being biased. It is therefore irrelevant whether the proximity of the two men actually influenced the decision, said Schindler. In this case it is actually not clear.
Nevertheless, according to Schindler, even the appearance of possible bias is a reason for recusal and could damage the reputation of the disciplinary body. “The authority of this institution depends solely on what kind of reputation it has and the trust that athletes place in it.” That’s why it’s important that the members of the chamber adhere very closely to the recusal regulations, says Schindler.
Case now back with disciplinary body – Mez no longer involved
When asked, the President of the Disciplinary Chamber, Carl-Gustav Mez, wrote: He consulted with the Chamber’s secretary before the suspension was lifted. A four-eyes principle applies. Each individual case is assessed impartially and independently. In addition, the lifting of the provisional ban was proportionate, said Mez. The manager of the NKL training center did not want to comment to SRF.
The trampoline case is now nearing completion. The sports ethics body Swiss Sport Integrity has completed its investigation. She still considers it very likely that psychological and physical abuse occurred in the Liestal training center. The dossier is now with the disciplinary chamber for a final assessment. Carl-Gustav Mez will no longer play a role. Confronted with the research, the president of the disciplinary chamber announced that he would be withdrawing from the case for the final assessment.