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11 ESLJ [1] (2013)

handle is hein.journals/entersport11 and id is 1 raw text is: 


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              Contents                                                  ISSN   1748-944X
Abstract                                The Law         Relating to         Brazilian
Introduction
Treating Sports Fans as Consumers:  Sports Fans: An Introduction
the Sports Fans Statute                                                             1
Rights and duties of sports fans         for a British Audience
Fighting Against Hooliganism:                                             2
Organising Football Fans Associations                   Pedro   R. Fortes
The World Cup in Brazil: Recent      Professor at the Faculty of Law, FGV Law
Developments                                                 School
Final Remarks

Abstract
This article describes the recent developments in Brazilian law that led to the enactment of the
Sports Fans Statute in 2003. Over the last decade, Brazilian fans have been treated as consumers
and  are  consequently  entitled to a  bundle of  legal rights: fairness of the competition;
transparency; access to an ombudsman;   transportation; personal safety; insurance; sanitation;
fair tickets and food pricing; and ticket selling standards. In addition to these consumer rights, due
to the escalation of violence among hooligans, Brazilian authorities established Sports Fans Courts,
prohibited alcohol consumption  inside football stadiums, and  permitted certain sports fans
associations to be banned as well as individual spectators. Recently, the organisation of the World
Cup  provoked a clash between  the transnational culture of FIFA executives and the local legal
culture of Brazilian lawyers, as the norms adopted to organise the national Brazilian competition
will be suspended during the international tournament.

Keywords
Sports Fans, Consumer Rights, Transparency, Ombudsman,  Hooliganism, Safety, Alcohol
Prohibition, Banning Orders

Introduction
The  main  goal of this article is to introduce recent Brazilian legislative and institutional 1
developments  to a British audience and to stimulate intellectual exchange between the two
legal communities   regarding sports law.  On  one  hand,  it is interesting to describe
contemporary  Brazilian legal practices and to communicate them to academics, lawyers, and
public officials from Great Britain. On the other hand, it is also important to acknowledge that
all legal developments should be analysed within a given national context and in accordance
with the particular social circumstances of that legal culture. By describing the enactment of
sports fans' consumer rights in Brazil, this comparative mirror may provoke a British audience
to reflect. An awareness of the pitfalls of legal transplants (Blum 2008) and the differences
between  our legal cultures opposes any suggestion for the exact same rules to be adopted
elsewhere. However,  there is much common   ground  between  the two countries regarding
ticket touting, spectator safety, crowd control, banning orders, and alcohol restriction. In
addition, the concept of sports fans as consumers  is an idea that resonates to a British
audience  in contemporary times. Nowadays,  we  consume  not only fashionable goods and
electronic devices, but also sports events on TV and at stadiums as part of everyday life in
our global village.

The text will be divided into five sections. First, the Brazilian Sports Fans Statute (Estatuto do 2
Torcedor) will be introduced and the concept of the sport fan as a consumer and the right to a
fair competition will also be explained. Second, the specific rights and duties of sports fans
according to the Brazilian law will be detailed, focusing especially on transparency, purchase
standards, and the rights to transportation and personal security. Third, the specific measures
taken against Brazilian hooligans will be explained, especially the collective banning of sports

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