Team Sky has been a dominant force since joining the WorldTour in 2009. But now links between it and a gambling interest have emerged.
Former pro team Unibet was forced out of the peloton because its links to gambling broke rules governing advertising in sport. But links between Team Sky and the gambling industry have been ignored by the UCI and the media since its inception in 2009, writes Cillian Kelly
When is a WorldTour team not a WorldTour team? When it is in breach of UCI rules and perhaps should never have been issued a WorldTeam license in the first place.
And this could be the case with Team Sky due to a potential conflict of interest regarding betting on cycling.
If UCI rules are applied, this conflict of interest throws Team Sky's participation in the upcoming Tour de France into doubt.
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The world's number two ranked team is owned by Tour Racing Limited which owns the WorldTeam license under which Team Sky operate.
Tour Racing Limited is 85 per cent owned by Sky. Sky also owns 20 per cent of Sky Bet, a gambling company which takes bets on various cycling events, including many in which Team Sky take part. Until December 2014, Sky owned 100 per cent of Sky Bet.
There is a specific rule regarding betting on cycling contained within the UCI Regulations:
1.2.030 Anyone subject to the UCI regulations may not be involved directly or indirectly in the organisation of bets on cycling competitions, under penalty of a suspension of between 8 days and one year and/or a fine of CHF 2,000 to 200,000.
Charles Pelkey, attorney at law and a cycling writer with 15 years experience of reporting on matters involving the UCI, is of the opinion that Team Sky is in breach of this rule.
"The language is pretty clear: 'may not be involved directly or indirectly',” he says.
“Certainly operating under the same parent company as a betting service is, at minimum, indirect involvement. I certainly believe that this constitutes a conflict of interest."
There have been problems in the past with a team having a business relationship with a betting company.
In 2007, Unibet sponsored what was then known as a 'ProTour' team. The team fell foul of French advertising laws regarding gambling companies when it tried to take to the start-line of Paris-Nice.
Ultimately, the team was prevented from taking part in the race; a situation which repeated itself at the Tour de France later that year.
Unsurprisingly, Unibet didn't last long as a sponsor; pulling its funding at the end of the year.
However, the situation with Team Sky is rather different. It is not simply a case of sponsorship; it’s a case of ownership.
Effectively, the same company that pays Team Sky riders to race their bikes also owns a company that accepts bets on those same riders and their rivals.
Surely this conflict of interest was raised and dealt with by the UCI or the independent License Commission when Tour Racing Limited was applying for WorldTeam status for Team Sky in the autumn of 2009?
Not according to Team Sky itself.
A spokesperson for the team stated that 'the UCI have never raised this as an issue, during the license application process or at any other time'.
The Team Sky spokesperson was also keen to point out the squad believes it is not in contravention of any UCI rules and that any problem, if one existed, with the ownership structure of Team Sky would have been dealt with at the time by the License Commission.
The License Commission which rules on these matters had the same members in 2009 as it still has today in chairman Pierre Zappelli and three members; Paolo Franz, André Hurter and Hans Hoehener.
The License Commission acts independently of the UCI. It is the License Commission's responsibility, with the aid of a UCI appointed auditor, to determine whether any applicant fulfils the criteria to be granted a WorldTeam licence.
The decisions that the License Commission make are deliberately kept secret.
It is explicitly stated in the UCI regulations that 'deliberations of the commission are held in camera' and that 'members of the commission shall have a duty of confidentiality regarding the matters entrusted to them which shall persist after the end of their term'.
When contacted regarding Team Sky's relationship with Sky Bet, UCI spokesperson Louis Chenaille gave the following statement:
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“The examination of requests for UCI WorldTeam licences involves a thorough analysis and meticulous inspection of the teams’ files, both by the UCI and the independent Licence Commission.
“When Team Sky filed its licence application, no problem regarding the team structure was observed.
“If this had been the case, the Licence Commission would have intervened in order to rectify a situation that it would have judged inadequate. This was not the case.”
When pressed on whether Team Sky's relationship with Sky Bet was actually observed at the time of the application and deemed not to be a problem or whether it was not observed at all; the UCI were unwilling to confirm which was the case.
However, as already stated above, Team Sky has itself confirmed to stickybottle it was indeed the latter case, that this issue wasn't raised by any of the parties involved.
This appears to be an oversight on behalf of the License Commission.
Given that this Sky Bet issue was not considered at the time, it raises the question as to why Team Sky via Tour Racing Limited has been issued with a WorldTeam license in 2009?
"I think the license should be subject to review" says Pelkey.
"I assume that review would be the only process by which the UCI could invoke some sort of requirement to keep the betting operation and team from creating a conflict.
“The logical – and fair – resolution would be to bar Sky Bet from taking on wagers that involve cycling.
“That may prove to be too expensive for Sky to give up … but it’s their issue and cycling can’t afford to have that sort of appearance of impropriety present."
The issue of Sky Bet ceasing betting on cycling competitions is unlikely to be an expensive undertaking.
Sky Bet confirmed via the Team Sky spokesperson that bets on cycling constitute a mere 0.02 per cent of its business.
However it is not the practicalities of the relationship between Team Sky and Sky Bet which are in question, it is the principle.
"It’s disappointing because Team Sky have run a top-notch program but this is a conflict of interest and one that needs to be addressed,” continues Pelkey.
“I believe that even the appearance of a conflict is problematic and thus, this is something that Sky, in whatever of its incarnations, should avoid."
Should Team Sky be part of the World Tour?
It appears the team’s relationship with Sky Bet was not dealt with or acknowledged at the time of its license application.
It also appears Team Sky is in breach of the UCI's rule regarding betting.
It states in the UCI rules that 'the Professional Cycling Council may suspend the licence of a UCI WorldTeam if this is considered necessary to protect the image of the UCI WorldTour'.
A team can be suspended for up to one month, or longer if a specific situation needs to be rectified, during which time the team is prohibited from taking part in any events within the UCI WorldTour.
The UCI may also withdraw a WorldTeam license if 'the information taken into account in granting the licence or the registration of the UCI WorldTeam was erroneous and the commission considers that the actual situation did not justify the grant of a licence or registration'.
The UCI may also withdraw a WorldTeam license simply 'in the event of failure to comply with the UCI's regulations'.
If the UCI takes this issue seriously and applies its own rules, then this may cast doubt on Team Sky’s participation in the Tour de France which gets underway this Saturday in Utrecht.
- Cillian Kelly is a cycling writer. He publishes Irish Peloton.
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