At the conclusion of the Sport Management and Sustainability course, promoted by the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies and ACF Fiorentina, we are pleased to share the slides from the lesson on Whistleblowing and Compliance, delivered by our own Alessandro Rodolfi and Giovanni Pellerano.
The session explored whistleblowing not only as a legal obligation but also as a vital instrument for fostering ethical and transparent environments within the world of sport. Football, in particular, faces significant challenges such as corruption, match-fixing, doping violations, financial misconduct, discrimination, harassment, and abuse. By examining landmark whistleblowing cases alongside recent instances of match manipulation and labor exploitation, we demonstrated how reporting has been essential in uncovering wrongdoing and driving reform.
A key part of the presentation focused on the practical application of whistleblowing tools, highlighting the use case of GlobaLeaks at ACF Fiorentina. GlobaLeaks, an open-source whistleblowing platform developed to align with EU standards, supports the club in maintaining integrity and transparency by enabling secure, anonymous reporting from both internal and external stakeholders. This example illustrated how technology can effectively integrate into governance frameworks to strengthen ethical practices in sport.
Our discussion covered the main legal frameworks governing whistleblowing, including the EU Directive 2019/1937 and its Italian implementation (D.lgs. 24/2023), the organizational compliance model under D.lgs. 231/2001, the ISO 37002:2021 standard on whistleblowing management systems, and GDPR provisions ensuring confidentiality and digital protection. We highlighted how whistleblowing fits into broader safeguarding, compliance, and sustainability strategies within sports organizations.
We extend our sincere thanks to Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, ACF Fiorentina, and all the students who participated in this training. The quality of the discussions and the keen interest shown confirm how important it is to continue developing practical tools and effective practices for ethics in sport.