The Flemish Sports Tribunal (VST) is the overarching disciplinary body of Flemish sport. It handles disciplinary complaints about transgressive behaviour committed by a member or an appointee of an affiliated sports organisation. The VST was established on 8 June 2020, as successor to the Flemish Doping Tribunal from 2008, and it has been operational since 1 January 2021 for disciplinary proceedings concerning transgressive behaviour. Besides transgressive behaviour, it also handles doping cases. This page explains who can file a complaint, what the procedure costs, how it proceeds and what appeal is available.
When the Flemish Sports Tribunal has jurisdiction
The VST does not automatically have jurisdiction. Two conditions must be met together. The sports organisation concerned must be affiliated with the VST. And its disciplinary regulations must designate the VST as the competent disciplinary body for transgressive behaviour. If either condition is not met, the casecannot in principle come before the VST and the federation’s internal disciplinary body remains competent.
The VST’s list of members includes seventy sports organisations. For each organisation it is indicated for which matters it relies on the VST. More than sixty organisations do so for transgressive behaviour. Check that list before taking any steps, as it determines who you need to approach. The VST itself points out that the sports organisations supply that information and that the VST is not responsible for its accuracy.
If the alleged perpetrator is not a member of an affiliated federation, he cannot in principle be brought before the VST. This applies to events at national or Walloon level. The umbrella federation may itself affiliate, and the Flemish and Walloon wings can agree between themselves in their regulations on how the matter is adjudicated.
Against whom a complaint can be brought, and for what conduct
The procedure does not only target affiliated athletes. Persons who, at the time of the events, were bound to comply with the disciplinary regulations, such as coaches, volunteers and parents, can in principle also be brought before the VST.
What exactly constitutes transgressive behaviour is not set out in a statute but in the disciplinary regulations of the sports organisation concerned. The concept is traditionally divided into violence, harassment and transgressive sexual behaviour. Those regulations are therefore the first document to read, as they set out the definition, the sanctions and the time limits.
A disciplinary complaint can be filed with the VST from 1 January 2021. The date of the events themselves is in principle irrelevant. Older events are therefore not automatically excluded.
Who can file a complaint
- The sports organisations affiliated with the VST.
- All other persons, such as the victim, a parent or a witness, regardless of whether they are themselves a member of the sports organisation concerned.
In both cases the condition set out above applies: the sports organisation concerned must be affiliated and must designate the VST for transgressive behaviour.
Must you first report to the club or the federation?
This depends on the disciplinary regulations. If the regulations prescribe a mandatory prior report, for example to the integrity contact point, the complaint must in principle first be filed there. If the regulations do not prescribe this, the complaint can be filed directly with the VST.
Anyone who does not want or is not able to report to their own organisation first can request an exception from the VST and thereby obtain direct access. Note two limitations. The VST only grants such access on serious grounds, for example a conflict of interest at the integrity contact point or a justified lack of confidence in the functioning of the organisation. And the possibility must be provided for in the federation’s disciplinary regulations. Direct access is therefore not a free choice.
The complaint itself is submitted via the VST’s online complaint form. For sports organisations, that form is mandatory. Individuals can ask the VST for help completing it.
What proceedings before the Flemish Sports Tribunal cost
A registry fee of 100 euros is due when filing a disciplinary complaint. An individual complainant who is successful at the end of the proceedings has that amount refunded.
In addition, every case incurs procedural costs: the hire of rooms, the fees for the members of the investigative body and the disciplinary judges, and their mileage allowance. The disciplinary chamber decides in its final decision who bears these costs. The sports organisation concerned pays them to the VST and can subsequently recover them from the party ordered to pay. An individual complainant can therefore also be ordered to pay the costs.
Anyone lodging an appeal must advance the costs of the appellate disciplinary chamber. The secretary-general sets the amount of that guarantee. That amount currently stands at 1,000 euros.
The precautionary measure, and the seven-day time limit
This is the step that causes harm the fastest and is most often overlooked. While the disciplinary complaint is being handled, the sports organisation can impose a precautionary measure on the alleged perpetrator. This is an administrative measure of a temporary nature intended to restore calm and safeguard safety. In practice it often means that someone may not participate in matches or may not go to the club until the decision is issued.
Unless the disciplinary regulations provide otherwise, the person concerned can lodge an appeal against that precautionary measure with the Flemish Sports Tribunal. That appeal must be lodged within seven calendar days of the date the precautionary measure was sent. Calendar days, not working days. Note the sending date as soon as the letter or email arrives. This procedure may run concurrently with the examination on the merits.
The investigation
A case is first handled by the investigative body. It conducts an independent investigation into the facts and hears the alleged victim, the alleged perpetrator and the witnesses. It then draws up a report.
Two points are important here. The investigative body has no power to dismiss a case, so every complaint is submitted to the disciplinary chamber. And whatever you state during a hearing remains in the file until the end. Have your file reviewed, therefore, before you attend a hearing or submit a written position. This applies to both parties.
Hearings in principle take place at the Huis van de Sport in Ghent. If the victim prefers a location of their own choosing or a neutral location, this is possible.
The disciplinary hearing and the sanction
The disciplinary chamber consists of a presiding officer and two judges. The federation and the alleged perpetrator are always parties. The alleged victim can join the proceedings as a party and thereby take part in them themselves. The parties exchange submissions and are heard at the hearing. Hearings of the disciplinary chamber always take place at the Huis van de Sport in Ghent.
The disciplinary chamber rules on the merits of the complaint and applies the disciplinary regulations of the federation concerned. The possible sanctions are set out in those regulations. They include, among others, a reprimand, a temporary ban on participating in activities and matches, a temporary ban on holding functions within the organisation, suspension of membership or definitive exclusion. The disciplinary chamber can also impose an alternative sanction. The VST publishes its decisions and an annual report on its website.
Appeal: the VST or the BAS
A disciplinary decision is not an end point. Where the appeal lies again depends on the federation’s disciplinary regulations. The VST itself has set up an appellate disciplinary chamber, and most federations opt for this. A number of federations provide in their regulations that the case must be submitted on appeal to the Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sport (BAS). You can read more about that route on our page about arbitration and dispute resolution.
The appeal period is likewise set out in the disciplinary regulations and it is short. It begins to run from notification of the decision. Anyone who lets the period lapse loses the appeal, however strong the file may otherwise be. Check that period, therefore, as soon as the decision arrives, and not only once you know what you want to argue.
Disciplinary law and criminal law run alongside each other
The same facts can give rise to both a disciplinary case and a criminal case at the same time. The two procedures are independent of each other and answer a different question. The disciplinary chamber asks whether someone has breached the rules of the sport and whether he may still hold a function in that sport. The criminal court asks whether an offence has been committed and what penalty applies to it. An acquittal in the criminal case therefore does not exclude a disciplinary sanction, and a disciplinary sanction says nothing about the outcome of a criminal case. In addition to the disciplinary complaint, the victim can also report the facts to the police.
What to pay attention to, as a reporting party and as a person concerned
For anyone making a report, documentation matters most. Messages, emails, adjusted training schedules and witnesses disappear from view quickly. Set them out early, with date and context, as the investigative body works with the file it receives.
For anyone accused, the right of defence matters most. You are entitled to access the file, to sufficient time to respond and to assistance during the proceedings. A disciplinary sanction affects a career: a suspension keeps an athlete out of competition, and exclusion bars a coach or an administrator from the sport. Do not, therefore, treat disciplinary proceedings as an internal formality. You can read more about the principles of these proceedings on our page about disciplinary law.
The framework within which the VST operates
Since 1 January 2021, the Flemish government has required subsidised sports federations to pursue an integrity policy, to organise an integrity contact point and to have an independent disciplinary system in place. A federation can set up its own body for this or refer to the VST. The large majority refer to the VST.
This framework has been updated since the VST’s establishment. The decree of 15 March 2024 on promoting a safe sporting climate, published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 18 April 2024, provides for the structural recognition and subsidisation of an overarching disciplinary body for the sports sector, which deals with breaches concerning transgressive behaviour and doping. We monitor this regulatory framework for sports federations, sports clubs and athletes.
Help outside the disciplinary proceedings
Disciplinary proceedings are not a form of support. Anyone seeking support after transgressive behaviour can contact the Flemish Reporting Point for Transgressive Behaviour (Vlaams Meldpunt Grensoverschrijdend Gedrag). Calling is free on 0800 13 184. The reporting point can also be reached via chat and via meldpunt@vlaanderen.be.
Further questions? Do not hesitate to contact us on 09/334.94.70, via the contact form or via sport@everest-law.be.