Sports Law Bulletin

Six reasons for sports disputes to be public

As a barrister acting in sports disputes for over 20 years, I have long argued for greater transparency, fairness and therefore publicity. Over those years we have seen great strides …

17 Jul 24

Nick De Marco KC

CAS, The War In Ukraine And Russian Football Bans

The Russian invasion of Ukraine commenced on 24 February 2022. Four days later the Bureau of the FIFA Council suspended Russia’s national teams from participation in FIFA competitions (1). On …

27 Jul 23

Shane Sibbel

Caster Semenya in Strasbourg: Applying the ECHR to the “entire sporting world”?

By a majority of four to three, a Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has found that Switzerland violated the rights of the athlete Caster Semenya under the …

14 Jul 23

Mark Vinall

THE NEW FOOTBALL REGULATOR

On Thursday 23 February 2023, following much anticipation, the UK Government Department for Culture, Media & Sport (‘DCMS’) published its White Paper “A sustainable future - reforming club football governance.” …

2 Mar 23

Nick De Marco KC

FIFA’s Football Agent Regulations - The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

On 16 December 2022, FIFA finally approved its new Football Agents Regulations. While some of the Regulations came into force from 9 January 2023 (mainly with respect to new agents …

16 Jan 23

Nick De Marco KC

Fulham FC v Jones [2022] EWHC 1108 (QB)

Luka Krsljanin, instructed by Matthew Harpin of Browne Jacobson, acted for the successful appellant (Fulham FC) in this significant appeal concerning the circumstances in which the Court will find civil …

18 May 22

Luka Krsljanin

The Cap That Doesn't Fit - Why Salary Caps Cannot Work in Football

With 2021 already having seen the end of two short-lived experiments in this area, Nick De Marco QC discussed the fundamental common problems with the concept of salary caps in …

3 Aug 21

Nick De Marco KC

Political protests in sport – Athletes’ rights and duties at the 2020 Olympics

Sport cuts across race, religion, age, gender, politics and more. Indeed, the unifying nature of sport is one of its greatest attributes, and one consequence of this is that professional …

22 Jul 21

Luka Krsljanin

The Racing Partnership – The rights and obligations of distributors of live sports betting data

The Court of Appeal’s recent judgment in The Racing Partnership v Sports Information Services [2020] EWCA Civ 1300 is essential reading for practitioners advising those who seek to exploit live …

1 Apr 21

Hollie Higgins

From rags to riches: what next for salary caps in football?

A month ago this week, the English Football League (EFL) confirmed that it would immediately withdraw salary caps for League One and League Two clubs that had been ruled unlawful …

12 Mar 21

Will Bordell

Salary cap is incompatible with leagues that promote growth and investment

Early this week an eminent independent arbitration tribunal upheld the claim brought by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), the players’ union, that the EFL had breached its legal obligations by …

11 Feb 21

Nick De Marco KC

Covid 19: The impact of the crisis on competition law and tax issues in sport

The Covid 19 epidemic and consequential lockdown measures have had a disastrous impact on the seasons of winter and summer sports alike.

2 Jul 20

Kieron Beal KC

Sports Law Bulletin Brochure

Written by members of Blackstone Chambers’ highly rated sports law team and comprises bulletins written between January 2019 and March 2020.

19 Jun 20

Football in the time of COVID-19: lessons to be learned from the recent decision in South Shields FC v The FA

A distinguished arbitral panel, chaired by Lord Dyson with Charles Flint QC and Andrew Green QC, recently delivered its award in the case of South Shields Football Club 1888 Limited …

12 Jun 20

Nick De Marco KC

Coronavirus, sport & the law of frustration and force majeure

The decision of the English Premier League, Football League and the Scottish FA to suspend football matches as a result of corona virus is the latest in a series of …

13 Mar 20

Nick De Marco KC

For the Love of Money: Exploring the Decision in the Saracens Salary Cap Case

In November 2019, an Independent Panel of Premiership Rugby handed down its eagerly anticipated decision concerning the Club’s alleged breaches of the Premiership Rugby Salary Regulations (the “Regulations”), which impose …

29 Jan 20

Celia Rooney

TPO in Football: What it is, how it is developing, and what it should be

The issue of Third Party Ownership in football remains a live one, despite FIFA’s outright prohibition in 2015.

6 Jan 20

Nick De Marco KC

All in a Day’s Work: Salary caps in the cross-hairs of UK and EU sports regulation

The past couple of weeks have seen a major ruckus run through the world of Rugby Union, raising questions about the financial aspects of the game and how to ensure …

2 Dec 19

Ravi Mehta

A Guide to The FA’s New Intermediaries Regulations 2019-2020

The FA recently brought in various amendments to its Regulations on Working with Intermediaries1 and, on 29 June 2019 published guidance notes on them.

4 Jul 19

Nick De Marco KC

Sex on a spectrum in the binary world of sport: the CAS’s decision in the case of Caster Semenya & Ors v the IAAF

On 30 April 2019, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) delivered its award in the case of Caster Semenya & Athletics South Africa v the International Association of Athletics …

3 May 19

Celia Rooney