The Racing Rules of Sailing
FIFA Asks World Sailing How They Should Resolve Red Card Issue
\Well, that title is not true, but could almost be believable.
Have you ever stopped and compared sailing dispute resolution system to that of other sports??
I quite often watch other sports dealing with disputes and wonder...what if this was sailing?
The latest drama (2026 World Cup FIFA decision to allow suspend the match ban for 1 year) over there in the world cup made me think about it...
By the nature of the sport, sailors are used to post-match dispute resolution. Even an 8 year old kid learns that the protest system is there to sort out stuff - after the game. And they use it. With this, they are taught that time limits for complaints are important. The protest committee has a clear tried and tested set of processes and rules to follow - and the rules bind them quite strictly.
It seems the FIFA system does not.
-----------
The closest I can see to this football decision to sailing is 'redress - was there an improper action by the match official?' Seems no. Just like a bad R42 decision. It's done. End of.
There is also a question of 'protest/appeal time limits'. We can add in the question of rule 69... Possible bringing the sport into disrepute!
Well, I don't know exactly the process which was followed (or not). I just read the 2025 Football Disciplinary Code cover to cover and also the 2026 World Cup Regulations...it has a few holes in it for sure. Reading the Belgium statements it makes the 2026 World Cup drama look like a Wednesday night beer-can race protest! Belgium Statements.
Overall, it seems like they have changed the NOR during the competition!!
In four months time, I suppose we will get the written decision.
F1 has had a recent stewards enquiry. Hamilton reprimanded for going to quickly under yellow flag. Fair enough. The F1 system is more like the sailing system as far as I can see it. In so far as the stewards enquiry process is designed for post-match adjudication and is quite well documented as a system.
-----------
To me, this is tarnished the event which was going quite well after a rocky build-up. The world needs to take this seriously. It's not just football and FIFA which is brought into disrepute - it's sports in general.
Sticking to the rules and dispute system (no politics) what are you thoughts.. .what if this was sailing?
Have you ever stopped and compared sailing dispute resolution system to that of other sports??
I quite often watch other sports dealing with disputes and wonder...what if this was sailing?
The latest drama (2026 World Cup FIFA decision to allow suspend the match ban for 1 year) over there in the world cup made me think about it...
By the nature of the sport, sailors are used to post-match dispute resolution. Even an 8 year old kid learns that the protest system is there to sort out stuff - after the game. And they use it. With this, they are taught that time limits for complaints are important. The protest committee has a clear tried and tested set of processes and rules to follow - and the rules bind them quite strictly.
It seems the FIFA system does not.
-----------
The closest I can see to this football decision to sailing is 'redress - was there an improper action by the match official?' Seems no. Just like a bad R42 decision. It's done. End of.
There is also a question of 'protest/appeal time limits'. We can add in the question of rule 69... Possible bringing the sport into disrepute!
Well, I don't know exactly the process which was followed (or not). I just read the 2025 Football Disciplinary Code cover to cover and also the 2026 World Cup Regulations...it has a few holes in it for sure. Reading the Belgium statements it makes the 2026 World Cup drama look like a Wednesday night beer-can race protest! Belgium Statements.
Overall, it seems like they have changed the NOR during the competition!!
In four months time, I suppose we will get the written decision.
F1 has had a recent stewards enquiry. Hamilton reprimanded for going to quickly under yellow flag. Fair enough. The F1 system is more like the sailing system as far as I can see it. In so far as the stewards enquiry process is designed for post-match adjudication and is quite well documented as a system.
-----------
To me, this is tarnished the event which was going quite well after a rocky build-up. The world needs to take this seriously. It's not just football and FIFA which is brought into disrepute - it's sports in general.
Sticking to the rules and dispute system (no politics) what are you thoughts.. .what if this was sailing?
Created: Today 09:12
Comments
Format:
You must be signed in to add a comment.
There was clearly an improper action by the RC equivalent in not measuring speed correctly. In sailing after one person protested the hearing would (or at least should) have included ever driver affected by the error, and redress would have been given to all. I think it also demonstrates that our process of not altering points scored is superior. Sailors who have been on the podium aren't demoted and positions aren't changed. One of the drivers affected by that mess up ended up scoring no points and would surely have been given average points as redress.