Treading new ground: Introducing the critical criminology of sport

Aurélien Daudi
Dept. of Sport Sciences, Malmö University

With Sport and Crime: Towards a Critical Criminology of Sport, authors Peter Millward, Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen, and Jonathan Sly (2023) present readers with their attempt to forge a new path in both criminological research and social scientific sport studies, by combining the two. Whereas there has been a flourishing of subdisciplines whose aims are the study of sport – from the sociology of sport to its history and politics – the criminology of sport has been criminally overlooked (pardon the pun). More specifically, while crimes in sport have occasionally been the object of study, what has been truly lacking, the authors claim, are investigations applying the theoretical perspectives of critical criminology, an offshoot strand within the broader field of criminology. This is an oversight whose remediation this book aims to administer, by insisting on the need for and laying out some of the foundational elements of what it envisions as the emerging field of critical criminology of sport. Its aim, fundamentally, is “to showcase the wide yet under-utilized repertoire of critical criminological approaches to the social study of sport”, and “to show exactly why the application of criminological theory is at the forefront of sport” (p. 7).

Just prior to this book’s publication, another volume was released with similar aims (Silva & Kennedy, 2022). Taken together, their joint endeavors stand as testaments to the momentum behind the ambitions of establishing a critical criminology of sport, reinforcing the existence of a gap which it appears uniquely positioned to fill. Overall, and some reservations aside, Sport and Crime is successful and worthwhile for those interested in the topics covered. However, it also raises a few critical questions, some of which will be addressed in this review.

The book is stretched across eight chapters, including an introduction to the core themes of the book (chapter one), an overview of the theoretical foundation (chapter two), and a brief conclusion and summary (chapter eight). The five chapters in between then aim to tackle various issues and phenomena located at the intersection of the social scientific study of sport and critical criminology.

While its aims are laid out unambiguously in the first chapter, I sometimes failed to distinguish those aims as a propelling force, or guiding principle, throughout the chapters that followed.

Chapter three weaves a long and intricate historical tale of bribery and corruption occurring in connection with the Olympic Games and FIFA, so-called “white-collar crime” or “deviancy” among the wealthy and powerful. It showcases how powerful elites and corporate sponsors sometimes straddle the line of acceptable behavior, both morally and legally. Chapter four turns to sport based interventions (SBIs), aimed at reducing crime and preventing at-risk youth from succumbing to temptations of deviant activities. The authors undertake a critical survey of the effectiveness of such interventions, concluding that, while much of the discourse surrounding SBIs hail their positive potential to serve asbulwarks against youth delinquency, there is scant empirical evidence supporting such a view. This, then, indicates the need for more research.

Chapter five introduces critical security studies, as a complement to critical criminology, and explores the impacts of sport security and “typologies of surveillance” on different actors, stakeholders, and communities. The authors problematize concepts of safety and security, pondering instances when official ambitions to improve security and safety have adverse effects on sport consumers, to the point of even becoming a tool by which the “‘powerful’ control the ‘powerless’” (p. 100). Ultimately, they urge more research to be conducted on security and surveillance, particularly in relation to mega-events and their ‘security legacies’ (i.e., security measures and novel techniques introduced during events that continue to affect surrounding areas and communities post-event, such as the spread of CCTV technologies). Chapter six might be the best chapter, although it stretches its connection to the central theme of the book (the critical criminology of sport) perhaps a little too thin. Here, the authors combine cultural criminology (which emphasizes the cultural domain in which deviant behaviors take place) with Lyng’s (1990) edgework theory to explore how the high-risk and transgressive character of extreme sports like mixed martial arts may explain their seductiveness. The core argument presented is that scholarly understanding of transgressive leisure behaviors can be improved via the application of conceptual frameworks and ideas from cultural criminology.

Finally, chapter seven discusses the treatment of migrant workers employed for the construction of stadiums in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as a significant example of social harms associated with global, commercial sports. It incorporates concepts drawn from zemiology (the study of social harm) and “relational sociology” to explore the mistreatment and harm inflicted on the migrant construction workers, as well as the responsibilities associated with it.

As previously indicated, while much of the book is engaging, a few critical remarks warrant mention. Overall, whilst reading the book, I was often left with an unclear sense as to its direction. While its aims are laid out unambiguously in the first chapter, I sometimes failed to distinguish those aims as a propelling force, or guiding principle, throughout the chapters that followed. At times, I found myself needing a reminder of the stated goals of the book and then struggling to connect them to what I was currently reading. Perhaps the goal of establishing the foundations for the new and emerging field of critical criminology of sport in a more purposeful and less scattered fashion would have required more specificity, including a delineation of and rationalization for a set of core pillars or an overarching frame according to which the project would be oriented.

A second point pertains to the central theoretical foundation upon which the book rests. Critical criminology was formed in the late 1960’s as an intellectual venue for – as one key figure of the movement quoted in the book claims – “young radicals”. It was “shaped by (neo) Marxist” theory, later undergoing “a left realist revision” (p. 13). As such, it is outspokenly political, possible even ideological. Since this book aspires to establish a new sport-adjacent orientation within criminology, or a new subdiscipline in social scientific sport studies, the implications of grounding this emerging field in a pre-existing ideological foundation does, I think, merit at least some discussion. Especially as the book occasionally uses the terms “criminology of sport” and “critical criminology of sport” interchangeably, despite the differences between them being far from insignificant. I wonder if more care should not have been given to the terminological differences here.

The word ”critical” adds a very specific, theoretical, even ideological, spin (deriving from Critical Theory), which is by no means implicit in the more neutral “criminology of sport”. As per the authors’ own account, critical criminology defines itself by its resistance to and deviation from what it calls “positivist criminology” (or, simply, criminology). Thus, when – as in the final page of the book – the authors reiterate their contributions “toward a ‘criminology of sport’” (p. 186), one could argue this is technically not entirely true, nor in line with the stated goals of the book or with claims madeelsewhere. Theirs was always the goal of contributing toward a critical criminology of sport. Details matter; and I think this is a case of a significant detail that should have been more carefully tended to.

Moreover, given the extensive introduction to the history and foundational perspective of critical criminology in chapter two – not to mention its emphasis in the book’s title ­– its presence throughout the book is surprisingly opaque. Several of the chapters give impressions of historical accounts rather than critical, or even criminological, analyses, for which the theoretical perspectives of critical criminology seem superfluous. They are heavy in exposition, low in analysis (e.g., chapter three). Occasionally, one finds oneself nodding along impatiently as retellings of events and other researchers’ statements unfold at length, anxious to arrive at the authors’ own analysis or original contributions. At times, the wait is too long and does not always entirely pay off. These are aspects which could have benefitted greatly from a more generous treatment at the editor’s table. And on that note, so would the linguistic presentation. A surprising number of textual errors and linguistic stumbles also made it unscathed passed the editorial phase. Frequently, sentences lack clarity, proper verb agreement, and proper integration of modifiers. Additionally, the text suffers from punctuation issues, which, aside from being aesthetically displeasing, sometimes negatively impacts readability, reinforcing the notion that more could – indeed, should – have been done to polish the text.

Despite these critical remarks, the book deserves recognition for its contributions to the emerging field of the critical criminology of sport. It is not only well-researched, providing a comprehensive foundation of relevant scholarly literature aligned with its aims, but also admirable in its ambition to establish the foundations of a new field. These are virtues from which the remaining blemishes should not significantly detract.

Copyright © Aurélien Daudi 2025

References

Lyng, S. (1990). Edgework: A social psychological analysis of voluntary risk taking. American Journal of Sociology, 95(4), 851-886.

Silva, D. & Kennedy, L. (2022). Power Played: A Critical Criminology of Sport. Vancouver: UBC Press.