Handling complaints and appeals

The editorial team of the magazine "Sports Games" strives for objectivity and openness. We have developed a transparent mechanism for considering complaints from authors, reviewers, and readers regarding editorial decisions, ethical violations, or technical errors.
 
1. Subject of the appeal or complaint
Complaints may concern:
  • Refusals to publish: if the author believes that the review was biased or contained factual errors regarding the content.
  • Ethical violations:  complaints of plagiarism, duplication of publications, or conflict of interest.
  • Procedural delays:  violation of established deadlines for manuscript review.
  • Metadata error:  incorrect display of author names, affiliations, or DOIs after publication.
2. Complaint procedure
  • The complaint is submitted in writing to the official email address of the editorial office: pomeshikovaip@ukr.net .
  • The applicant must clearly state the essence of the claim, provide evidence (e.g., references to sources in the case of an accusation of plagiarism), and indicate the manuscript ID.
  • Anonymous complaints are not considered, except in cases involving gross violations of scientific ethics (whistleblowing).
3. Procedure for consideration
  1. Acceptance:  The editorial office confirms receipt of the complaint within  3 working days.
  2. Investigation:  The Editor-in-Chief appoints an independent commission (at least 2 members of the editorial board who did not participate in the initial review of the article).
  3. Communication:  The editorial board may contact authors or reviewers for additional explanations.
  4. Decision: The editorial office shall provide a reasoned response to the applicant  within  30 calendar days.
4. Possible outcomes of the author's appeal:
  • Leaving the decision unchanged:  if the author's arguments are found to be insufficient.
  • Re-review:  if the bias of the first round of experts is confirmed (a new independent reviewer is appointed).
  • Manuscript acceptance:  if a technical or procedural editorial error is confirmed.
5. Final decision
The decision of the Editor-in-Chief is final. If the applicant is not satisfied with the result, he has the right to appeal to the founder of the publication or to the Committee on Ethics of Scientific Publications (COPE).