Spectator misconduct in cycling carries legal consequences, for the fan and sometimes for the organiser.
The problem of spectators causing harm to athletes or at least exhibiting reprehensible behaviour is not a new element in sport. During the Tour of Flanders, beer is thrown at Mathieu Van Der Poel, and in the Tour of France, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are given chips. But can such supporters in cycling also be punished for their misconduct?
Now that the Tour of France has ended and the necessary preparations are being made for the Olympic time and road trial, we look back on the interview by Mathieu Baert at Radio 1. Mathieu Baert hereby explains the consequences of such misconduct by spectators in cycling to.
Mathieu Baert clarifies in the interview that the misconduct of cycling spectators can be prosecuted on the grounds of assault and battery. Before assault and battery can occur, the following conditions must be met:
- The contact of the object with the body must have the potential to cause a bruise or injury;
- The object must actually touch the body.
These conditions will not always apply to the specific situation of spectator misconduct towards the athletes.
However, there is also a second qualification on the basis of which the misconduct of spectators can be prosecuted, namely on the basis of Article 563, 3rd paragraph of the Criminal Code. “mild acts of violence”. The conditions stated above do not apply to this qualification. Misconduct by spectators will therefore relatively quickly lead to minor acts of violence.
Finally, identification of the perpetrator is crucial for prosecution.
The prosecution can take place after the Public Prosecution Service conducts a criminal investigation. The cyclist himself or the organizer of the event can also file a complaint with civil proceedings. This allows an investigation to be initiated directly by an investigating judge.
Master Baert concludes with the suggestion of a law parallel to the Football law to prepare for cycling. Such a law could effectively punish the misconduct of spectators and supporters.
Listen to the interview again here the full Radio 1 interview.
Why spectator misconduct in cycling is hard to punish
A road race has no turnstiles and no ticket. The route runs over public roads, the public stands along it free of charge and nobody checks who is there. That is the charm of the sport and it is also the legal problem. The administrative regime that applies to football rests on a closed stadium, on tickets and on identifiable access points. None of that exists on an open road, so the same mechanism cannot simply be copied across.
Identification is therefore the weak point. Television images and mobile phone footage often show the act clearly, but they rarely show a usable identity. Without a name there is no prosecution, however clear the pictures are. In practice a file stands or falls on whether the police can link the footage to a person, and that has to happen quickly, while witnesses still remember what they saw.
What a rider or an organiser can do
A rider who suffers damage is not limited to the criminal route. Alongside a criminal complaint there is a civil claim against the person who caused the damage: a damaged bicycle, medical costs, lost prize money or lost income during recovery. Both routes can run in parallel, and a civil claim lodged together with the criminal complaint puts the injured party in the proceedings as a party rather than as a witness.
An organiser carries its own duties. It has to take reasonable measures at the points where the risk is highest: the finish, the climbs and the narrow passages where the public stands closest to the riders. Barriers, stewards and clear signage are the usual measures. An organiser that ignores a known risk can itself be addressed for the consequences.
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