2. Introduction to sports law
• Does Sport exist?
– Very academic topic; but also professional
publications
• Sports and the Law or Sports Law
– Sports Law covers all legal aspects related to sport
• Not a sports person’s marriage, but yes the
endorsement
– How do the law firms deal with this area?
• Sports Law Departments
3. Sources of sports law
• Source of law = applicable law
• Generally accepted:
– Regulation of governing bodies: National /
International
• Self regulation
• Based in agreement between parties
– Law of national, European and international
institutions
• ‘Hard law’ (binding legal instruments)
• Imposed law
4. Autonomy of Governing Bodies
• Exponential growth in their relevance
– More formalisation
• Bound by natural justice (e.g. Elliot Saltman and
European Tour)
• Legal representation (e.g. Asif, Aamir and Butt and the
ICC)
• Panel members are judges (e.g. Delon Armitage and
RFU – His Honour Judge Jeff Blackett –)
• More complex rules (e.g. FA)
• Decisions and punishment more elaborated (e.g. CAS
awards)
– More acceptance, thus less challenges
5. Autonomy of Governing Bodies (II)
• Sports-sympathetic approach or ‘specificity of
sport’
– No challenge to the governance of sport; e.g. Webster
and art 17 Regulations for the Status and Transfer of
Players
– BUT see El Hadary, Al-Ahly Sporting Club and FC Sion
in Swiss Federal Court
• Specialist sports knowledge
• Less formal and restrictive
• Cost efficient
• Disadvantage: lack of jurisdictional input
– e.g. Benfica, Atletico, CAS and Swiss Federal Court
6. Autonomy of Governing Bodies(III)
• ADR mechanisms maintains disputes out of
court
– Art 64.2 FIFA Statutes: ‘Recourse to ordinary
courts of law is prohibited unless specifically
provided for in the FIFA regulations’
• Courts don’t rule over non compliance with
law (e.g. EU law)
– See ‘Real Sociedad and Nihat Kahveci v. RFEF’ in
contrast with ‘(CAS) FC Midtylland v FIFA’
7. Domestic Sports Law
• Mark James (Sports Law):
– Domestic Sports Law is the autonomous translational legal order through which the body of
law and jurisprudence applied by international sports federations is created; in particular it
includes the jurisprudence of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and its creation and
harmonisation of sporting-legal norms
• Autonomous legal order of NGB (e.g. BHA):
– Constitution (e.g. BHA’s Memorandum and Articles of
Association)
– Board of managers (BHA’s Chairman's Committee)
– Disciplinary committee (BHA’s Disciplinary Panel)
• Case law of disciplinary committee very relevant
– e.g. Sheffield United v FAPL and Sheffield United
Football Club Ltd v West Ham United Football Club Plc
8. Domestic Sports Law (II)
• Sports Resolutions UK
– Interpretation and application of NGBs rules
– e.g. World Professional Billiards and Snooker
Association (WPBSA) v Higgins
• National Anti Doping Panel
– Steve Dooler (Rugby League)
9. Global Sports Law
• Body of rules that governs sport at world
level:
– internal applicable law and procedure
– developed by each ISF
– and by the tribunals applying their rules
• ISFs regulate conduct of its members, thus
sport participants
– e.g. Laws of the Game: IRB’s Board and IFAB
10. Global Sports Law (II)
• CAS
– appeal for majority Sport GBs
– ambition of a lex sportiva
– complex legal issues
• Employment: FC Shaktar Donetsk v. Matuzalem
Francelino da Silva, Real Zaragoza SAF and FIFA
• Discrimination: Pistorious v. IAAF
– albeit not all decisions published
– Lex sportiva or application of norms?
11. National Sports Law
• Acts of Parliaments and the decisions of the
courts which rule on:
– governance, administration, consumption and
participation in sport
• UK, contrary to France, Spain and others, has
no ‘Sport Act’
• UK courts do rule in questions of sport
• Office of Fair Trading is another source
12. National Sports Law (II)
• Decisions of the domestic courts
– Kingaby v. Aston Villa Football Club [1912]
• very first challenge to transfer rules
• motivated by the increasing restriction of movement
and professional alternatives
• lost by footballer’s union due, probably, to counsel’s
poor defence
• rules remained unchallenged for fifty years (Eastham v
Newcastle United [1964])
– Mark Jones v Welsh Rugby Football Union Jones
(1998) (CA)
• Natural justice in disciplinary hearings
• WRFU changed regulations
13. National Sports Law (III)
– Gasser v. Stinson, High Court (QBD, 15 June 1998
• 2 years doping ban on Gasser challenged in High Court
• High Court contemplated restraint of trade, but refused
• IAAF relocated to Monaco
– Condon v. Basi [1985] CA
• Compensation for personal injury
– Stretch v. Romford Football Club
• Romford Bombers Speedway Team banned from racing
14. National Sports Law (IV)
• Legislation from the national Parliament
– generally been poor, rushed and reactive: panic
law
– Public Health Act 1875: allowed urban authorities
to purchase land to be able to provide places for
public recreation
– Football Spectators Act 1989: created Football
Licensing Authority
– London and Olympic and Paralympic Games Act
2006: protecting IOC’s IP
15. European Sports Law
• Law generated by the institutions of the EU
• Art. 6 Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (TFEU):
– competence to act in support of, to coordinate
and to supplement the actions of member states
in the field of sport
• Sport Unit: umbrella organisation for EU
sports law and policy
• Contrary to UK policy, more interventionist
– Protecting application of EU law
16. European Sports Law
• Some decisions:
– Walrave and Koch v. Association Union Cycliste
Internationale [1974]
– Union Royal Belge des Societe de Football
Association ASBL v. Jean-Marc Bosman [1995]
– Meca-Medina and Majcen v. Commission of the
European Communities [2006]
17. Conclusion
• Concept of sports law is debatable
• There are two main areas:
– Internal development
– Public framework
• Internal development has different levels:
pyramidal
• Public framework can be parliamentary and
judicial, within the different spheres
Any Questions?
