Mosley stays on as FIA president

[Steve Gardner]

I'm flabbergasted Mosley - the son of British Fascist Party founder and friend of Hitler, Oswald Mosley - managed to survive following accusations he participated in a Nazi-style orgy set in a mock concentration camp, which involved him speaking in German and having his hair and genitals inspected for lice.

I find it hard to see how he hasn't brought the sport into disrepute. It can be a tricky case to prove, particuarly when the accusations refer to private matters, but Mosley's actions seem to me to have ticked the necessary boxes.

Here are extracted criteria from Disciplined For ‘Bringing A Sport Into Disrepute’ — A Framework For Judicial Review by Martin Kosla.

• Misconduct may be injurious to a sport simply because a particular standard of behaviour to which an individual subscribes has been lowered in the eyes of the public.
  
  
• An individual may be deemed to have put themselves forward as subscribing to a particular standard of behaviour if they have taken on a leadership role (such as being the captain or coach of a team or squad) or a position of authority (for example, being a referee, official or executive officer of a club or governing body).
  
  
• ...goalkeeper Mark Bosnich was charged by the English Football Association with bringing the sport of soccer into disrepute following his Hitler-style salute to the opposing team’s fans during a Premier League match.[166] He was considered to be an ‘outstanding ambassador for the sport of football’[167] (and no doubt a role model). A ‘reasonable’ disciplinary tribunal could ‘honestly’ come to the conclusion that Bosnich had brought the sport into disrepute on the basis that the high standard of conduct which is expected of such a role model had been lowered in the eyes of the public.

Furthermore, his actions, coupled with the fact he remains in post could possibly lead to fractures within the sport. Consider the following comments:

• US delegate Robert Darbelnet said he was disappointed with the outcome and may withdraw his country's membership.
  
  [SNIP]
  
  President of the American Automobile Association, which serves over 50 million members, Darbelnet said the result could split motorsport and lead to a breakaway from members from the FIA.
  
  
• The American, Japanese, French, Australian and Spanish automobile federations all voted against Mosley as did the German motoring federation ADAC - Europe's largest automobile organisation - who said it has now frozen all its activities with FIA.
  
  
• "In my position as president of the British Racing Drivers' Club trying to safeguard the future of the British Grand Prix, we really need an organisation like the FIA to help us protect our position so that we can have reasonable terms with the commercial rights holders.
  
  "But it's very difficult when you have a president who is as controversial as Max is to go to governments and argue the case for Formula One.
  
  
• Former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan said he was not surprised that Mosley won the vote - but still hoped he would consider his position.
  
  "My hope is he will think about the damage [done]. This is not a moral issue, it's a practical one," he said.
  
  "There are a lot of countries where F1 goes and lots of the rulers of those countries don't want to deal with him."
  
  
• Former owner of the Minardi F1 team Paul Stoddart said... "It is a sad, sad day for motorsport and it will signal the end of the FIA as we know it," he said.
  
  "This will prompt a mass exodus of sponsors, and members will now either break away from the FIA or form a breakaway group themselves.
  
  "The damage that has been done and continues to be done by Max every day he is the president, is irreparable.
  
  "We have to get rid of this guy."

All of which suggests misconduct according to another point made by Martin Kosla in his article, where conduct is considered injurious to sport where it has....

...adverse consequences for their ability to perform their sporting duties... such that it leads to a refusal by the individual’s peers to take further part in the sport, it causes excessive friction and division amongst those engaged in the competition, or that the conduct is so outrageous or shocking that the sport is subjected to public ridicule.

Source and full article: BBC

Max Mosley has won a vote of confidence to stay on as president of motorsport's governing body, the FIA.

More than a third of delegates did not back Mosley at Tuesday's meeting in Paris but he won 103 of 169 votes.

Mosley called the vote following a newspaper report that he took part in a "Nazi-style orgy" with prostitutes, though he denied Nazi connotations.