Chris Farnell Lawyer: Sports law in UK
Welcome to the Chris Farnell Lawyer Medium blog. The UK government has adopted a non-interventionist approach to sport and there is no general law of sport. Instead, the regulation of individual sports is largely left to the national governing bodies. The regulatory framework for doping matters in the UK is based on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code, which is the global platform for anti-doping regulation alongside the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as the ultimate arbiter of the WADA Code’s interpretation and application.
In a civil context, participants in professional sport owe a duty of care to one another, meaning they must not act negligently, recklessly or with the intention to cause harm, but must instead exercise reasonable care in all circumstances. The precise nature and scope of that duty of care will differ according to the rules and characteristics of the sport in question. Unless a sport has a specified dispute mechanism by which its participants are bound, then its participants will be entitled to pursue civil claims against one another for any damages suffered (ie, personal injury claims).
In the context of criminal law, there is a general concept of implied sporting consent, providing sporting participants who commit dangerous acts an exemption to being charged, provided the act in question falls within the boundaries of what could reasonably be expected in their sport. Even acts that breach of the rules of the sport may nevertheless be consented to if they fall within the practices of the sport, a concept widely referred to as the ‘playing culture’ of a sport.
A regulatory or disciplinary offence by a participant will usually fall to be determined by a disciplinary committee (or similar body) pursuant to the relevant NGB’s rules. Where a dispute falls outside this sphere and is akin to disputes of a civil nature (eg, breach of contract claims), the majority of NGBs require participants to resolve disputes by way of arbitration. There will, however, be certain sporting disputes that fall outside of the scope of an arbitration agreement, thereby allowing them to be litigated in the civil courts, though this will depend on the precise facts of the case or the nature of the relief being sought by the claimant.
However, recently it has come to light that decisions against participants within a sport e.g. football are often enforced through restrictions on the participant’s involvement in the relevant sport under the sport’s rules. Sports clubs and athletes can be ineligible to compete in competitions affiliated with the relevant NGB for a designated period or indefinitely, or made to pay financial penalties, or both. Failure to comply with a decision can result in further sanctions within the sport. Similarly, non-competing participants within a sport could be prohibited from conducting business or commercial activities with participants within the relevant sport. Find out more about Chris Farnell from IPS Law online.