In this article Takuya Yamazaki, private practice lawyer and member of FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber, provides a fascinating insight into the development of professional sports players’ rights in Japan focusing on baseball and football. Part 1 provides the legal background before detailing the legal hurdles Japanese baseball players have had to overcome.

Much has been written since the FA handed down a 10 game ban about the proportionality of response and the impartiality of the independent panel set up to investigate the Suarez incident. However, it is worth taking a moment to consider the political and commercial consequences of Suarez’s latest transgression.

With the imminent introduction of Goal-Line Technology by FIFA and the Premier League Dr Marco Del Fabro, attorney-at-law, PROBST ATTORNEYS, Switzerland poses the question, “will Goal-Line Technology suffice?”.

I recently advised Sheffield United FC (SUFC) on its successful defence of a training compensation claim before the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC). SUFC faced a significant training compensation claim due to its acquisition of a young international football player from France.

It is undisputed that, as a general principle, training compensation must be paid to a player’s training club when a player signs his first professional contract with another club and on each further transfer until the end of the football season of his 23rd birthday (Article 20 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players 2010 (Regulations)).

Carrying on form the points raised in the first blog of this series, it is important for individuals with a vested interest in their brand identity to educate themselves as to the potential pitfalls of inappropriate use of social media. However, sometimes the issue can go further than inter club politics and player frustration.

Simon Pentol, a criminal law barrister at 25 Bedford Row, shares his views on the infamous Suarez bite. Should charges have been pressed against Suarez? Did Liverpool FC take the right action after the incident? Watch to find out.

While the issue of protecting the club’s image from negative social media postings is considered in some of my other posts on LawInSport, one area which remains under analysed is what this means for the individual as a brand in their own right.

Here’s a hypothetical question: Do I, as a Tottenham Hotspur fan, want to see Andre Villas-Boas ‘resting’ Gareth Bale and other key players in a game against Tranmere Rovers in an early round of the Capital One Cup? The answer to that question is, yes.  The reason for this answer is simple: it is crucial that the club can squad rotate for more important competitions (and I happen to be a Rovers fan as well!). 

The Supreme Administration Court of the Czech Republic has ruled in its recent judgment that a professional football player may perform his duties to the club under a business contract (i.e., as an entrepreneur) rather than an employment contract. 

It seemed only a matter of time before the Premier League (PL) jumped aboard the financial regulation ship. In Daniel Geey latest blog he considers the implications of the PL's vote in favour of draft proposals covering profitability and sustainability and short term cost control measures.

In Part 2 Ryan Becker looks at the issue of image rights in the Premier League and examines Major League Soccer’s approach to contractual relations with its players which differs greatly from both the NFL and Premier League.

For the first time ever, the Deutsche Fußball-Liga (DFL) has awarded audio exploitation rights for the seasons 2013/14 to 2016/2017 of the Bundesliga (first and second division in German football) in a tender process. The Bundesliga rights come with the respective exploitation rights for the so called Super Cup and the leagues' relegation matches.

Football DataCo has been involved in many sporting intellectual property law disputes in recent years. In this article LawInSport's Kevin Carpenter analyses the latest in a string of cases affecting data provided by companies for sports betting purposes which has implications for both the UK and Europe.