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Saturday, 22 August 2026dailybeirut.com
Football
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that criticizing referees is free speech, but accusing them of corruption without proof is not.
As controversies around refereeing decisions in major tournaments intensify, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a ruling on Tuesday addressing a key question in football. The court determined that expressing criticism of referees and questioning their impartiality falls within the scope of freedom of expression.
However, the court clarified that this freedom does not extend to allegations of corruption or match-fixing against referees unless supported by evidence.
