ABSTRACT
Many phenomena of corruption in sport involve referees. If corruption in sport equates to ‘the deviation from public expectations that sport will be played and administered in an honest manner’, then the term ‘administered’ includes surely ‘the making and implementation of sport rules and by-laws’ and incorporates ‘all levels of refereeing or adjudication associated with sport’. Sports institutions are called to organise remedies for the integrity of referees. A significant intervention in referees’ corruption in a private league was implemented in the US by the National Basketball Association. The syntagm ‘fair play’ is employed in various ways and in different situations, but it generally indicates a correct behaviour in the practice of sports: therefore, fair play is the moral quality of an athlete who applies the rules of a sport and plays loyally. Fair play is the fundamental principle of sports ethics.
