"Two-stage Process" of Match-fixing Violation and the Challenge to Its Legitimacy

With the establishment of the "two-stage process" as the timeline, the structure and problems of the "two-stage process" are analyzed through the FC Porto case, Fenerbahçe case, Eskişehirspor case and Lao Toyota case, combining with the challenges from non-retroactivity and Ne bis in idem when UEFA and AFC applied it and appealed to CAS. It has been found that the "two-stage process" demonstrates the determination of sports organizations to crack down on match-fixing and maintain the integrity of competitions. However, there are also many problems including the conflicts between institutional arrangements and the nature of the measures in the first stage, the loose connection between the measures in the two stages and the monotonous application, etc. Suggestions for Chinese Football Association, in order to better adapt to the global trend of sports, are to incorporate the relevant content of the "two-stage process" into match-fixing prevention education and improve the rules related to match-fixing. In the meanwhile CCAS is recommended to strengthen the legality review of the sports organization rules system.