Monthly Roundup: August 2021

Wednesday, 08 September 2021

Welcome to LawInSport’s Content Roundup for August 2021. We have curated a selection of recent articles and podcasts from our content that reflect contemporary issues and popularity.

Please enjoy, and if you have any related questions or feedback then please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Articles

Olympics
A Summary Of CAS Decisions At The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

A full summary of the CAS Ad Hoc Division decision at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, covering eligibility, field of play and doping-related disputes…read more
Written by Martin Ross, Partner, Hall & Wilcox & Mark Lebbon, Special Counsel, Hall & Wilcox.

Football
Failure to reply to a FIFA proposal under Article 13 - lessons from Daugavpils v Kairat & FIFA

A recent noteworthy award rendered by CAS in the case of BFC Daugavpils v. FC Kairat & FIFA, concerning the consequences of not responding to a FIFA administration proposal…read more
Written by Luca Pastore, Attorney-At-Law, Lombardi Associates.

Football
A Guide To Financing Football Clubs: Debt, Equity And Future Trends

A comprehensive guide to investment and finance in football. The topic has become key today due to the pandemic and has forced clubs to find increasingly complex methods to protect their financial health. This series is split into three parts, which examine in turn: (1) debt finance, (2) equity finance and ownership models, and (3) future trends in football finance…read more
Written by Michael Savva, Partner, Watson Farley & Williams & Stuart Bolton, Associate, Watson Farley & Williams

Football
MCFC v The Premier League – Lessons from the recent Court of Appeal judgment

The recent Court of Appeal judgment in Manchester City FC v The Premier League & Others establishes that there is public interest in the manner in which disciplinary proceedings are prosecuted by governing bodies like the Premier League against clubs and in any excess delay to such proceedings…read more.
Written by Andrew Street, Senior Associate, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Football
The perilous state of EFL club finances: A review of the Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday cases

An examination of several cases involving the EFL and two of its clubs concerning their financial practices. The decisions are reviewed in light of the EFL’s financial fair play rules, before reflecting on public criticisms about the process, including the wide-ranging impact of financial allegations, investigations and sanctions on clubs; the EFL’s position within the process; and the time taken to complete the hearings…read more.
Written by Will Bordell, Barrister, Blackstone Chambers

Football
Benjamin Mendy’s Criminal Charges – Employment, Sporting & Financial Repercussions

Discussion of the employment, sporting & financial repercussions of Benjamin Mendy’s criminal charges including the disciplinary process, financial ruin for breach of contract…read more
Written by John Mehrzad QC, Littleton Chambers

Football
Nike And Chilean National Team: Sponsorship Dispute Reaches The Copa América

Chile played most of its matches in the Copa America 2021 by hiding the logo of its kit manufacturer (Nike) due to a contractual dispute between the two parties…read more.
Written by Particio Murphy, Berton Moreno IP Law

Football
How Brazil’s new “two coach” rule for league football works

The Brazilian Football Association recently unveiled a new regulation which prevents clubs from registering more than two coaches per year…read more.
Written by Roberto De Palma Barracco, Neutral and Head of Research, Brazilian Soccer Federation’s National Dispute Resolution Chamber & Pedro Henrique Mendonça, Counsel, CSMV Advogados

Football
How HMRC's Renewed Preferential Creditor Status Impacts UK Football Clubs

The UK’s tax authority, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, now holds secondary preferential creditor status in seeking to recover certain taxes upon any UK company entering into insolvency and this article explores its impact on English professional sports clubs…read more.
Written by Mark Warren, Managing Associate, Linklaters

Football
Determining the level of compensation for out of contract football players

The background to the compensation system and the Professional Football Compensation Committee’s methodology in determining the level of compensation are explored in light of to award Fulham guaranteed compensation of £1.5m, plus a further £2.8m in contingent sums, in respect of then U-16 player, Harvey Elliott…read more.
Written by Daniel Lowen, Partner, LEVEL Law & Liz Coley, Partner, LEVEL Law

Football
How Do "Buy Out" Takeovers Of Football Clubs Work?

This article explains how buy-out takeovers of football clubs (such as the takeover of Manchester United by the Glazer family) work…read more.
Written by Michael Savva, Partner, Watson Farley & Williams & Stuart Bolton, Associate, Watson Farley & Williams

Competition Law
Are Team Salary Caps In Football Compatible With EU Law?

With FC Barcelona's recent issues relating to salary caps, this article discusses the compatibility of salary caps with European Union law and if they can be implemented Europe-wide…read more
Written by Sinziana Ianc, Managing Associate, Linklaters & Dwayne Bach, Doctoral Candidate

Motorsport
Top Tips for Protecting Confidential Information and Trade Secrets in Motorsport

This article considers how the law of confidence can protect competitive advantage in the motorsports industry and provides top tips on how those involved in the motorsport industry can best protect such information…read more.
Written by David Mitchell, Barrister, 39 Essex & Thomas Cleeve, Associate, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP

Data
Player Power v Data Monetisation – A New Battleground In Sport

This article explores the current status of play of data analytics in sport and its legal considerations…read more.
Written by Jennifer Mbaluto, Partner & Co-Head of the East Africa team, Clifford Chance, Jamie Andrew, Senior Associate, Clifford Chance & William Hanway, Trainee Solicitor, Clifford Chance

Immigration
Key UK Travel & Immigration Rules For The Sports Industry During Covid-19

This article provides key considerations for the sport industry relating to travel to the UK…read more.
Written by Shannon Donnelly, Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP & Jennifer Connolly, Associate

United States
Wrestling For Control: Former WWE Pro’s Copyright Challenge To Activision’s Call of Duty Character

Former professional wrestler Booker T. Huffman sued Major League Gaming and video game publisher Activision, claiming copyright infringement relating to Mr. Huffman’s wrestling alter ego, G.I. Bro, a retired special operations’ soldier claiming that Activision copied G.I. Bro’s likeness when developing the character David “Prophet” Wilkes in the game Call of Duty: Black Ops 4…read more.
Written by Andrew King, Associate, Squire Patton Boggs

United States
Liability Waivers For US Sports Venue Operators: Key Takeaways From Quezada V. Game Truck Georgia

Potential liability for sports venues and businesses for injuries sustained by participants and the importance of liability waivers is highlighted through this case…read more
Written by Benjamin Kaplan, Brooklyn Law School

Technology
Sports Technology And Media Rights - The Year In Review 2020/2021

This article considers how the commercial sports world has spent the last year dealing with a period of global turmoil for the industry…read more.
Written by Dr. Joseph Fesenmair, Partner, Bird & Bird; Conor Hume, Associate, Bird & Bird; Ansgar Faßbender, Trainee Lawyer, Bird & Bird

Esports
Why Esports Must Adopt A Child-First Culture To Protect Participants And The Industry

The safeguarding lessons the esports sector can learn from the experience of a traditional sport like football while also highlighting the ways in which esports environments present unique challenges…read more.
Written by Robert Lewis, Managing Associate, Mischcon de Raya, Andrew Cooke, General Counsel, Fnatic & Shulamit Aberbach, Associate, Mischcon Private

Esports
ESIC’s novel sanctioning methods in the CS:GO “coach spectator bug” case

The Esports Integrity Commission has sanctioned 37 coaches for their involvement in the ‘coach bug’ in the professional Counter Strike: Global Offensive scene which is form of cheating that allowed a team to gain a tactical advantage through their coach clandestinely spectating the opponent…read more.
Written by Daniel Kozelko, Barrister, 39 Essex

Match Fixing/Integrity
Upping the anti: ICC’s corruption unit hands out 8-year bans to UAE cricketers Ahmed & Hayat

The International Cricket Council banned two United Arab Emirates cricketers, Ashfaq Ahmed and Amir Hayat, for a period of eight years each for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for match-fixing...read more.
Written by Craig Hogg, Associate, Peters & Peters, Stephanie Williams, Trainee Solicitor, Peters & Peters

Match Fixing/Integrity
A Data Analysis Of Outcomes In FA Betting Cases

This article discusses an empirical analysis of 101 betting cases which are publicly available on The FA’s website which focuses on outcomes, average sporting sanctions and the effect of some of the more common aggravating and mitigating factors…read more.
Written by Alastair Campbell, Partner, LEVEL Law

Duty of Care
A Timely Reminder Of The Duty Of Care Owed To Visitors To Sports Grounds: Lewis v Wandsworth Council

In this case (which the tests of reasonableness and remoteness under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957), a passer-by was hit and injured by a cricket ball while she was walking in the park. She claimed damages for her injury, arguing that the council should have put up signage in the park warning about the dangers of the cricket match…read more.
Written by Jack Wood, Trainee Solicitor, Squire Patton Boggs

Corporate Law
When can directors and agents be personally liable - A cautionary tale from Tattersalls Ltd v McMahon

A bloodstock auction gave rise to proceedings in which the High Court examined agency law, the Companies Act 2006, the application of the auction house’s conditions of sale, and credit agreements in an auction context and held that A company director who placed winning bids at a bloodstock auction on behalf of his company was held jointly and severally liable for the non-payment of the relevant lots…read more.
Written by Adam Ibrahim, UK Co-Head Litigation & Arbitration, DLA Piper, Benjamin Fellows, Senior Associate, DLA Piper & Chengiz Ali, Associate, DLA Piper.

Podcasts

Podcast
A Data Analysis Of Outcomes In FA Betting Cases - Alastair Campbell, Partner, LEVEL - E117

Alastair Campbell talks about his analysis of 101 betting cases The FA has published...listen here

Podcast
NCAA V Alston Analysis - Mark Conrad, Associate Prof. Of Law And Ethics, Fordham University - E116

Mark Conrad discusses the impact of the decision of the US Supreme Court in NCAA v Alston...listen here

Podcast
Will Deller, Senior Associate, Bird & Bird - E115

Will Deller talks through the development of the esports sector and looks ahead to its progress including an esports World Cup...listen here

Bonus Content (For Plus, Corporate & Academic Members)

For Plus, Corporate and Academic members who missed out on our Football Law Digital Conference 2021, all videos from the conference are now available here. A list of the videos available is below: