In a recent report, Pitpass's business editor, Chris Sylt, put his finger on yet another crucial issue which most of the media has ignored: the possibility of further legal action in the light of the verdict of a Grande Tribunal d'Instance in the case of Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds.

Essentially, the court ruled that the FIA, through the WMSC, had not the power to ban either Briatore or Pat Symonds from motor racing since in neither case had it licensed them.

The FIA has said that is to appeal the Tribunal's ruling and FIA President, Jean Todt, has indicated that he proposes to alter the system. At present, before an appeal has been heard, the court's ruling has implications far beyond motor racing.

I guess that, like most people, I assumed that motor racing was essentially like a club or a society, in that it operated according to the common consent of its members. This is usually true of any organisation to which any of us voluntarily belongs, a sports club, a church, the Scouts, Masons, any organisation. It is generally assumed that an applicant knows, and approves of, the organisation's aims, rules and code of conduct.

As part of that belonging comes the possibility of exclusion, otherwise belonging does not mean much. Any club worth joining lays down conditions of membership and also lays down reasons for exclusion or expulsion. It is not like applying for a supermarket loyalty card.

If you have a loyalty card with one store and are seen shopping in another, you do not have your loyalty card cut in two. There is nothing like the bell, book and candle of the Roman Church, or the buttons being removed from your tunic while your sabre is broken to the sound of muffled drums.

In the case of Crashgate, we have Pat Symonds admitting, in writing, that he was party to the scam, but the judgement of a court has over-ruled his suspension from motor racing. The court did not clear him of involvement, but it decided that the WMSC did not have the power to suspend him.

There was a Bad Thing, but nobody can be held accountable. Nelson Piquet Junior, who performed the Bad Thing, was granted immunity as long as he snitched. Minimus appears to have the morals of Maximus who was a pretty unsavoury character. Remember the snide remarks Piquet Mk I made of Ayrton Senna?

Flavio Briatore has made no similar admission to Symonds, indeed, he has always protested his innocence. The French court did not examine whether or not he had foreknowledge of Crashgate but ruled that the WMSC had no right to issue a life-time ban. I hope that every other society, club and sporting association is paying attention.

There is the matter of the right to practice one's trade and in 1990, Jean-Marc Bosman, a Belgian footballer was coming to the end of his contract with his club. A French club offered him a contract, but did not offer his existing club a large enough transfer fee so his move was denied. Since he was no longer playing first team football, his salary was reduced.

Bosman took his case to the European Court of Justice which found in his favour in 1995. The ruling meant that any EU national playing for a club in the EU was a free agent when his contract expired and that his existing club could not demand a transfer fee as was then normal in almost every league in Europe.

Some leagues had imposed a limit on the number of overseas players a club could field, but the Bosman ruling changed that. Not only was the EU admitting more countries (there are now 26), but players elsewhere discovered EU genealogical connections. One result is that the wealthiest clubs in the elite leagues attract the best players and the local element has been lost.