An expert comments on the SC league player’s rape conviction – These are the conditions in the player’s contract

According to Olli Raustee, things that happened in free time do not fundamentally affect the working relationship. However, there is a clause in the SM league player contract based on which JYP terminated Severi Lahtinen’s contract. IL

Vice judge Olli Rauste answers on a general level the questions raised by the rape conviction of a SM league player for Iltalehti.

Rauste gave an interview in October Severi Lahtinen after the verdict. The interview is published again with Rauste’s permission Rönnin’s top after the verdict.

What are the player’s chances of continuing his playing career after the verdict?

– If it did not happen in sports activities but in free time, then the disciplinary rules of sports as such do not apply in principle, Rauste states.

– In my view, he will not be suspended in any sports disciplinary procedure. It is unlikely, because the disciplinary regulations of sports only apply to things that happened in sports activities or in connection with sports activities. If this has not been in sports activities – as this type of thing probably has not been – then there will probably be no disciplinary action.

– Then it’s another question, how the employers, i.e. the hockey clubs, react. How does his own employer react, and when the contract ends, will there still be someone who will sign a contract with him?

Does the employer have the right to withhold wages?

– Matters that happened during free time do not, in principle, affect the employment relationship.

– It’s a separate matter, isn’t it? In the SM league player contract base such a condition that if the player’s actions cause negative publicity, the club has the right to terminate the contract prematurely.

The SM league’s player contract 2020–2024 contains the clause Raustei intended about public appearances (8.10):

In his public activities and appearances, the player undertakes to promote the positive image of the employer and hockey and to avoid activities that conflict with these goals. The player must behave in his private life in such a way that his lifestyle does not endanger his playing condition and fitness and does not cause negative publicity for the employer and hockey.

(Editor’s note. JYP canceled Lahtinen’s contract in October citing the clause mentioned above.)

The player contract also contains the general provision intended by Rauste regarding violations and termination of the contract (11.1):

Both parties have the right, taking into account the regulations of the TSL (Employment Contracts Act), to terminate this player contract immediately, regardless of its duration, for a very compelling reason. Such a reason can be considered to be such a serious violation or neglect of the other party’s obligations arising from the player contract or the law and affecting the employment relationship between the parties that the other party cannot reasonably be expected to continue the employment relationship.

If the club decided to fire the player based on the district judge’s verdict, would he be entitled to compensation if the verdict is overturned in the appeals court?

– If the club considers that the player has violated clause 8.10 and terminates the contract based on clause 11.1, the player could submit the legality of the termination to a one-member arbitration court. Clause 13 of the agreement states Dispute resolution as follows:

Disputes arising from this player contract and related to it in one way or another will be settled definitively in arbitration according to the law on arbitration. The arbitration court has one member. The Helsinki District Court ultimately decides on the appointment of an arbitrator, if the parties cannot reach an agreement on the person to be appointed as the arbitrator.

– In other words, if the parties disagree on whether the rape conviction entitles the club to terminate the player’s contract or not, one arbitrator would decide how the matter is.