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Sport: Is hate speech ground for sanctions to sport clubs and applied/applicable in practice?

Code:
RED125
Key Area:
Public Life, Culture, Sport & Media
Strand(s):
Racism
08/03/2012 - 17:02
Short Answer

Hate speech is legislated for in Irish law in the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989. This act applies to everyone and is not particular to sports events. Individual instances of hate speech are dealt with by the relevant sporting association.

Qualitative Info

The forfeitures under the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act are:

6.—A person guilty of an offence under section 2 , 3 or 4 shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.

Offences by bodies corporate.

7.—(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a person being a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

8.—Where a person is charged with an offence under section 2 , 3 or 4 , no further proceedings in the matter (other than any remand in custody or on bail) shall be taken except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Groups affected/interested Migrants, Muslims, Ethnic minorities, Religious minorities, Majority, Africans/black people, National minorities
Type (R/D) Anti-migrant/xenophobia, Islamophobia, Afrophobia, Arabophobia, Anti-roma/zinghanophobia, Inter-ethnic, Intra-ethnic, Nationalism, Anti-roma/ romaphobia, Xenophobia
Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas Policing - law enforcement, Culture, Media, Sport, Political discourse -parties - orgs, Anti-discrimination, Anti-racism, Integration - social cohesion, Daily life
External Url http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1989/en/act/pub/0019/print.html#sec11
Situation(s)
Library