The Struggle Against Corruption in Israeli Sport: The Etzioni Commission as a Case Study

The year 2016 will mark 45 years since the Justice Etzioni Commission Report was published. The Etzioni Commission Report was a watershed event for sport in Israel. In the early 1970s, rumors spread about the involvement of sport officials and players in buying and selling games, bribing opponents and fixing results of soccer matches in advance in order to increase profits. The corruption in soccer led to the establishment of an inquiry commission which revealed the corrupt remuneration system prevalent among soccer teams. This system was shared by players, sport officials, teams and the Israel Football Association, which kept an `agreed conspiracy of silence`. Soccer teams enjoyed large sums of money without supervision and public control, thus violating the State tax laws. Anarchy in the financial management of sports institutions, in a clear conflict of interests of sport officials, was subject to severe criticism. The Football Association leadership was forced to resign and Member of Knesset Yitzhak Hans Klinghoffer proposed to amend the law allowing criminal prosecution in cases of match fixing in sport. It was a decisive victory for public opinion and the Ministry of Education, as the phenomenon of corruption and violence was deeply rooted in Israeli sport. In retrospect, the importance of the Etzioni Commission stemmed neither from the criticism it directed towards sport officials, nor from the eradication of corruption and violence in Israeli sport. In the long term, the Etzioni Commission findings were the first factor to change the structure of the sport in Israel.