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.

Mississippi Sports Law Review Editor-in-Chief Ryan Becker compares and contrasts the way in which the National Football League, the Premier League and Major League Soccer approach their legal contractual relations with its players.

The landmark ruling handed down by Mr Justice Tugendhat in March 2011 in the Rugby Football Union –v- Viagogo case, was a triumph for rights holders who require a means by which they can discover the identity of the anonymous wrongdoer who advertises and/or sells tickets via a ticket exchange. Despite attempts to set aside the ruling in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, the appeals have been unanimously dismissed. An important precedent has now been set by the Supreme Court which for the first time gives the rights holder the ability to obtain Norwich Pharmacal relief, to implement and enforce its ticketing policy and potentially take action against the wrongdoer.

On Friday 16th November, in a London hotel, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet two stars of Major League Baseball (MLB), Rick Vandenhurk, a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates & Chris Dickerson, an outfielders for the New York Yankees. Both where in London as part of the European Big League Tour (EBLT), an organisation founded by Vadenhurk, a Dutch national, who wanted to organise free clinics with All-Stars from the MLB for kids in his home country The Netherlands and the rest of Europe.

For the first time in history, an award of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was annulled by the Swiss Federal Tribunal because it violated fundamental principles of law, the so called substantive public policy. This marks the first time that a CAS award has been overruled based on substantive law and not procedural law.

The FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest sporting events on the planet. In 2014, Brazil will host the tournament again 64 years after the Brazilian national team was crowned runner-up in the Maracanã stadium, Brazil. Many benefits arise from mega events, ranging from tourism and employment to improvements in social welfare and infrastructure.

The 2014 World Cup will be the first to establish ecological and social parameters to be met by governments and private companies that participate in its organization. FIFA calls this the "Green Goal" created to mark the concern for the environment and sustainability of mega events.

In March 2011 the so called Pele Statute Federal Statute (n. 9.615/98 Art 29-A) established a legal means to calculate and claim solidarity contributions in Brazil. This was largely influenced by the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (“RSTP”).¹ The new rules aim to improve the system of compensation for training and education within Brazil. This article examines the construction of training compensation and solidarity contributions under the amended Pete Statute. 

At the start of the 2010/11 Barclays Premier League season, a significant rule was introduced that could have important legal consequences within English football. The Premier League Handbook 2010/11 (Section L) introduced a rule which stated that each Premier League club must submit a Squad List of 25 players. Any players deemed surplus to requirements and who were omitted from the Squad List would not be able to play any Premier League games until at least the next transfer window. Some 18 months on, this article examines the effect of the rule and the legal consequences which may arise in the future.

A recent Court of Appeal decision could deter rugby fans from trying to resell tickets at more than face value on the internet.

Last month the Court of Appeal ruled, in Rugby Football Union v Viagogo Limited, that the ticketing website Viagogo must provide the Rugby Football Union (RFU) with the names and addresses of anyone that had sold tickets on its website for the 2010 Autumn Internationals and the 2011 Six Nations at more than face value, in order to enable the RFU to take action against them.

At a time when sporting stars and other celebrities are increasingly applying to the courts for injunctive relief in respect of their private lives, it’s unusual to see a public figure on the receiving end of an injunction. Yet this was the fate suffered by Kieren Fallon recently when he was prevented by the courts from running in the Epsom Derby last month. No stranger to the courts, this was a sure reminder to Fallon, and to other sporting stars, that they do not operate above the general law.

Signing of a first professional football contract and training compensation in France: A practical aftermath of the Olivier Bernard Case By Martin Fauvel.

On 16th March 2010, the European Court of Justice issued an important ruling1 regarding the training compensation due when a young footballer, instead of signing his first professional contract with his training club, decides to export his services in another EU state.

Force India Formula One Team Ltd v Etihad Airways PJSC & Anor [2010] EWCA Civ 1051

In Force India Formula One Team Ltd v Etihad Airways PJSC & Anor, the English Court of Appeal held that the rebranding of an F1 team without including the names of sponsors as contracted under a sponsorship agreement constituted an irremediable and repudiatory breach of contract.

In this article Daniel Geey reviews the legal issues surrounding player participation at the World Cup and other national team football tournaments. Some interesting legal questions that have arisen in the past few years.

By Gary Rice, Beauchamps Solicitors

Recently retired former world champion boxer Joe Calzaghe, has won a High Court case against his ex-manager and promoter Frank Warren. Calzaghe claimed £2 million in unpaid fees, while Warren counterclaimed that Calzaghe owed him £1 million for breaking a verbal contract by which he agreed to take part in one more fight.

By Adam Berry, CMS Cameron McKenna

The facts

The football agency, Imageview Management Limited (“Imageview”), appealed against a High Court decision which: (1) upheld the dismissal of its claim for unpaid agency fees from the footballer Kelvin Jack; and (2) required the agency to repay fees already paid for by Jack.