Review of Chapter 8 Sport and Crime

 Chapter 8 Conclusion (Even) further towards a critical criminology of sport

Clearly I agree with their contention that their book, like mine, offers a critical criminological take on sport and second that criminology gains from such an engagement.

They suggest some emerging lines of enquiry (my numbering and apologies if I have missed one):

first the overlap with green criminologies (see Wilson and Millington, 2020);

second the growing penetration of the ‘Global South’ by mega-sports events;

third the ongoing and growing surveillance involved in sex-testing and ‘gender verification’;

fourth surveillance of fans and athletes in various ways which the Covid pandemic has exacerbated with its own legacy.

They conclude that there is an ‘intriguing and potentially rewarding challenge for scholars of criminology and sport alike’.

In their book they have advanced a critical criminology of sport with some intensive case studies. Mine was more focussed on arguing there was a pitch on which us criminologists might play (or frolic).

I agree with their hopes but would want to specifically add a critical engagement with trafficking and slavery to studies of mega-events and of the ‘Global South’.

If evaluations of sport as cure or cause of crime/violence are made these are broad-based and take account of wider structural issues as well as individuals.

All in all I’m very happy to have handed the baton to Millward et al so - like the clapped out old ‘father’ Avi Brisman has identified me as - I might shower off and retire to the stands to cheer on the next runners.

Review chapter 7 Sport and Social Harms - Qatar and World Cup 2022 in Focus

 Chapter 7 Sport and Social Harms - Qatar and World Cup 2022 in Focus Crimes of the Powerful (2)

6,500 migrant workers die yet no national or international law is broken! (Pattinson and McIntyre, 2021)

Millward et al turn to zemiology and the social harm perspective to examine this. I agree their arguments for this and history of these concepts but feel that issues around sports washing might have been brought in too (Søyland, 2020).

The history includes the foundation of a critical criminology, its examination, by some, of white-collar crime and the work of Hillyard et al. They also add in ‘relational sociology’ with a nod to Simmel. A prime example is the Hillsborough disaster but other examples come from ice-skating ‘accidents’ to Russian state-sponsored homophobia in that sport are touched on.

The meat of the chapter is Qatar and its multiple engagements with sport from its ownership of soccer club, Paris St Germain, to the hosting of 85 different major sports events (Reiche, 2015) since 1988.

There are questions - as there often are - about how the votes were secured. Moreover, how does sharia law square with the ‘party’ atmosphere normally surrounding such mega events including some shirt and stadium sponsors like Budweiser. Homophobia may be normal in football but it is inscribed in law in Qatar.

Amongst the human rights issues is the kafala system of labour relations which ties the migrant worker to the employer. This has not provided adequate safeguards for such workers. The chapter comments critically on these issues and makes much use of Amnesty International’s reports.