A questionable decision by the Finnish Kennel Club is currently causing a stir on social media. This concerns the Finnish judge and Agility athlete Einari Pekkala. Since December 2023, he has been temporarily excluded from all FCI competitions as both a judge and an athlete. However, the origin of this ban goes back even further. The story begins on August 19, 2023 at a Finnish competition. A participant loudly complained to judge Einari Pekkala on site about what he believed was a too long distance between two obstacles, which was endangering the dog’s well-being. Specifically, it’s about the distance between jump 1 and jump 2. One can certainly blame him for not measuring the distance after the accusation. Even if, from his point of view, it complied with the regulations. Nor all the discussions on site brought any settlement.
The participant then exercised his right and complained officially to the Finnish Agility Commission. He denounced both the course and what he described as Einari Pekkala’s inappropriate behavior after telling him his concerns. According to independent witness statements we have received, Einari Pekkala’s behavior was never inappropriate. The Finnish Agility Commission, which examined the matter in September 2023, also came to this conclusion and exonerated Einari Pekkala. To be fair, Pekkala is president of the Finnish Agility Association. But the investigation was carried out legally. Since a judge was involved in the investigation, the Finnish Kennel Club was automatically called in. They took on the case in accordance with the regulations and questioned the two main people who accused each other, as well as other witnesses. These are partly named by the prosecutor, but also by Einari Pekkala himself.
The result of this new examination was quite a surprise. Einari Pekkala, who had already been acquitted by the Agility Commission, was temporarily banned from acting as a judge. At this point one could still argue about whether this is right or not, since the final result of the investigation had not yet been determined. Instead, at a meeting of the association it was suggested that the case should be referred to the Ethics Board. But the real hammer behind the questionable decision: the temporary ban on his work as a judge goes much further. In addition to judging, he was also banned from competing as an athlete. As a result, he missed, among other things, the start of qualifying for the Finnish national team and the associated international competitions.
Another curiosity in this case, according to Einari’s statements, is that he was not informed about this by the Finnish association, but was informed by an Estonian organizer during a tournament. That was on February 6, 2024. The next day he filed a complaint with the Sports Legal Protection Board. The Finnish Sports Legal Protection Board is an appellate body that is independent of sports organizations which processes decisions made according to Finland’s Anti-Doping Code, Manipulation of Sports competitions and the Integrity in Sports on the basis of appeals. It was only through this step that the Finnish Kennel Club officially informed him of the decision to temporary ban him until the decision of the ethics committee.
This is summarized as follows: “At its meeting on February 1, 2024, the board of the Finnish Kennel Association (hereinafter also the Kennel Association) has decided to transfer the case concerning Einari Pekkala, which was reported to the Kennel Association by the Finnish Agility Association (hereinafter also the Agility Association), to the ethics committee. The Board of the Kennel Club has also decided that Pekkala will be temporarily banned from competition and prohibited from working in positions of trust, for which the rights have been granted by the Board of the Kennel Club or an institution to which the Board has delegated the right to issue, or an organization authorized by the Board, until the matter is finally resolved by the Ethics Board.”
A few days ago the at the moment last chapter in this story took place. The Sports Legal Protection Board rejected Einari Pekkala’s complaint, although they largely agree with him. The reason for the rejection was that they have no authority over the Finnish Kennel Club’s decision and therefore can not intervene. However, the statement criticized precisely this inability to act in such situations.
An excerpt from the statement from the Finnish Sports Legal Protection Board: “Athletes and judges belonging to the Agility Association may therefore also be sanctioned twice for the same offence. This arrangement cannot be regarded as sustainable from the point of view of the legal protection of the athletes. From the athlete’s point of view, it would be justifiable for the athlete to have a genuine possibility of appealing to the Judicial Board against sanctions imposed by the Kennel Club which extend to the activities of the Agility Federation.
The possibility for the Kennel Club to impose provisional disciplinary sanctions in cases brought before the Ethics Committee is also likely, given the length of the proceedings and the very severe nature of the disciplinary sanctions, to create situations in which the Kennel Club appreciably restricts the rights of athletes and judges participating in activities affiliated to the Federation without the persons subject to the disciplinary sanction being able to appeal to the Disciplinary Board.”
Until a decision is made by the Ethics Board, Einari Pekkala remains suspended from all FCI competitions and cannot act as a judge. We do not know when the Ethics Commission will speak out in this case. But the whole story leaves a very bad aftertaste for all the judges who sacrifice a large part of their free time for our sport. Especially the exclusion from all competitions as an athlete, which we believe is totally disproportionate. This after he was acquitted by the Finnish Agility Association. To the outside world, this conveys a very special picture. Finally, we are faced with the question of whether every judge will soon have to live with the fear of being excluded from the sport if they make a mistake. Whether there is a mistake at all in this specific case remains to be seen.
Sources:
– Description of the case from the defendant’s perspective
– Verdict of the Sports Legal Protection Board
– Bericht yle.fi
– Statement Finnish Agility Association
Gold Rush Competition 2024
ProsecCup 2024
