Guarding the sport: A legal analysis of the Macolin Convention in the fight against sports manipulation and shaping its future

The Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions (CETS No. 215) (Council of Europe, 2014a), commonly known as and hereafter referred to as "Macolin Convention", was an important step towards addressing the issue of sports manipulation on an international level. The Convention establishes a comprehensive legal framework that aims to effectively combat match-fixing and protect the integrity of sports competitions. As the only rule of international law that specifically addresses competition manipulation, it is a complex and ambitious project that presented itself as a potential solution to this ever-growing sports problem and its detrimental impact on the integrity of sports. Originally signed by 15 states of the Council of Europe at its inception, the Macolin Convention entered into force on 1 September 2019, following the fulfilment of its ratification by five countries as a prerequisite. As of September 2023, it had been ratified by nine countries (France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Switzerland, and Ukraine) and had been signed by 32 other European countries, as well as Australia and Morocco. Its increasing ratification, and signatures by European countries and beyond, demonstrate the growing recognition of the need for collaboration to preserve the integrity of sports worldwide. [...]