USADA announced today that, Tyler Flanagan, of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., an athlete in the sport of snowboarding, has accepted a two-year suspension for an anti-doping rule violation based on his refusal to submit to a sample collection.

1 May 2013 - The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) acknowledged the decision of Australasian Natural Bodybuilding (ANB) to impose sporting bans on eight bodybuilding competitors for a range of anti-doping rule violations.

Andrew Nixon joins Sheridans as a Partner, adding sport-specific regulatory and dispute resolution expertise to the firm’s leading Sport Group.

Andrew has a depth of experience working with high profile clients including governing bodies, sports clubs, football funds, sports agencies and individual athletes. His work focuses principally on regulatory, governance, disciplinary, arbitration and dispute resolution within the sport sector.

Andrew is regularly called upon as an expert in sports law by media outlets such as the BBC, Sky News, Sky Sports News, Channel 4 and ITV and has also written for numerous sports publications, including Sporting Intelligence, FC Business and Sports Business.

Andrew’s appointment further strengthens the firm’s service offering to the sports industry following the recruitment of Paul O'Dowd (Partner) and Tom Burrows (Associate) within the last 12 months.

Morris Bentata, Head of the Sport Group, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Andrew to Sheridans. Andrew has a strong profile and reputation within the sector as a regulatory and dispute resolution expert. The Sport Group has grown considerably over the last year and his appointment further expands our practice and offering to existing and new clients.”

As you may remember LawInSport helped promote the NSPCC's 'The Circuit' fundraising event that took place in March 2013. We are pleased to report that the event was a huge success which saw celebrities including former Formula 1 driver Mark Blundell, rugby star Austin Healey and boxer Joe Calzaghe take to the track to raise almost £100,000 for the NSPCC – an exclusive event featuring fast cars and action-packed racing.

In a short media release yesterday, CAS confirmed that the appeals of former Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammed Asif had been rejected on all grounds (see article for the background to the appeals).

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeals filed by the Pakistani cricket players Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt against the decisions taken by the International Cricket Council Tribunal on 5 February 2011 in which Mr Asif received seven years ineligibility (two suspended) and Mr Butt ten years (five suspended) following an investigation into spot-fixing in relation to “no balls” bowled during a Test Match played in London in 2010.

UK Anti-Doping has today confirmed that professional boxer Dillian Whyte has been suspended from all competition for two years following an anti-doping rule violation.

Mr Whyte tested positive for methylhexaneamine (MHA) following an in-competition test on 13 October 2012 and was provisionally suspended from all competition from 5 November 2012. An independent National Anti-Doping Panel found that this case warranted a two-year ban. Mr Whyte appealed, and the appeal panel confirmed the two-year ban.

LawInSport.com and the British Association for Sport and Law (BASL) have announced a partnership to help promote sports law in the UK and internationally. LawInSport.com will be working with BASL to help promote initiatives such as an industry journal, networking events and conferences as well as providing a fresh channel of communication with existing and potential new members.

Sean Cottrell, Founder and Managing Director of LawInSport.com said: “It is fantastic that the BASL board recognise the valuable contribution LawInSport.com makes to the sports law community. We are excited about working with BASL who have been at the forefront of the development of sports law in the UK and internationally for over 20 years and provide valuable support for their members.”

“This partnership demonstrates our shared objectives to support and encourage dialogue for those in the sports law and business sector for the betterment of sport as a whole, both in the UK and internationally.”

Adrian Barr-Smith, Chairman of BASL welcomed the partnership: “BASL are continually looking to improve the support and services which we provide to our membership. In a short space of time, LawInSport.com has established itself as an iconic brand, leading the way in engaging with a new generation of sports lawyers; working together we can enhance the services we offer and explore new ways to engage with our members.”

Watch this recorded lecture of Daniel Geey, one of the LawInSport Editorial Board members, talking about sports broadcasting at the University of Westminster at the beginning of March 2013.

LawInSport's Kevin Carpenter interviewed on Primetime Asia News re Match-Fixing which was aired on 21 February 2013.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed filed by Jacques Anouma against the African Football Confederation (CAF) regarding his candidacy for the CAF presidency. The Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) had proposed the candidature of Mr Anouma for the presidential election of 10 March 2013, a nomination which was declared inadmissible by the CAF Executive Committee on the ground that Mr Anouma was not and had never been a member of the CAF Executive Committee (a condition provided for in the CAF Statutes adopted in September 2012).

UK Anti-Doping has today confirmed that professional boxer John Donnelly has been suspended from all competition for two years following an anti-doping rule violation.

Mr Donnelly tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, following an in-competition test on 9 November 2012 and was provisionally suspended from all competition on 27 November 2012.

The athlete is banned from all competition from 27 November 2012 to 26 November 2014. The full written decision can be found on the UK Anti-Doping website at http://www.ukad.org.uk/anti-doping-rule-violations/current-violations/

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal of the Jamaican sprinter Steve Mullings against the decision of the Disciplinary Panel of the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) on 22 November 2011 which sanctioned him with a lifetime ineligibility following a second anti-doping rule violation.

To watch the Layth's interview visit:

http://www.citynews.ca/2013/02/17/oscar-pistorius-will-be-judged-in-court-of-public-opinion-toronto-lawyer/

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