Editor's Note: Dr. Despina Mavromati, LL.M., M.B.A., FCIArb is an Attorney-at-law specialized in international sports law and arbitration (SportLegis) and a Member of the UEFA Appeals Body. She teaches sports arbitration and sports contracts at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) and is a former Managing Counsel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

This comprehensive book of more than 500 pages with contributions by 53 authors and edited by Nick De Marco QC “aims to embody the main legal principles and procedures that arise in football law”. It is comprised of 29 chapters and includes an index, a table of football regulations and a helpful table of cases including CAS awards, UEFA & FIFA Disciplinary Committee decisions and Football Association, Premier League and Football League decisions. 

The 29 chapters cover a wide range of regulatory and legal issues in football, predominantly from the angle of English law. This is logical since both the editor and the vast majority of contributing authors are practitioners from England.

Apart from being of evident use to anyone involved in English football, the book offers additional basic principles that are likely to be of use also to those involved in football worldwide, including several chapters entirely dedicated to the European and International regulatory framework on football: chapter 3 (on International Federations) gives an overview of the pyramidal structure of football internationally and delineates the scope of jurisdiction among FIFA and the confederations; chapter 4 explains European law and its application on football deals mostly with competition issues and the free movement of workers; and chapter 29 deals with international football-related disputes and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

In addition to the chapters exclusively dealing with international football matters, international perspectives and the international regulatory landscape is systematically discussed – in more or less depth, as the need might be – in several other chapters of the book, including: chapter 2 on the “Institutions” (from governing bodies to stakeholders groups in football); chapter 6 on the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP); chapter 8 dealing with (national and international) player transfers; chapter 11 (on Third Party Investment) and chapter 16 on Financial Fair Play (mostly discussing the UEFA FFP Regulations); chapter 23  on disciplinary matters (very briefly discussing the disciplinary procedures under FIFA and UEFA Disciplinary rules); chapter 24 on domestic and international doping-related cases in football, with an overview of the CAS jurisprudence in this respect; and finally chapter 23 on corruption and match-fixing (with a very short description of the FIFA and UEFA regulations).

Furthermore, the book offers extensive chapters in less discussed – yet of high importance – football topics, including: chapter 13 on image rights and key clauses in image rights agreements; chapter 14 on taxation (referring also to taxation issues in image rights and intermediary fees); chapter 15 on sponsoring and commercial rights, with a guide on the principal provisions in a football sponsoring contract and various types of disputes arising out of sponsorship rights; chapter 17 on personal injury, discussing the duty of care in football cases (from the U.K.); and chapter 18 on copyright law and broadcasting (with short references to the European law and the freedom to supply football broadcasting services).

Some chapters seem to have a more general approach to the subject matter at issue without necessarily focusing on football. These include chapters 27 (on mediation) and 22 (on privacy and defamation), and even though they were drafted by reputable experts in their fields, I would still like to see chapter 27 discuss in more detail the specific aspects, constraints and potential of mediation in football-related disputes as opposed to a general overview of mediation as a dispute-resolution mechanism. The same goes for chapter 22, but this could be explained by the fact that there are not necessarily numerous football-specific cases that are publicly available. 

As is internationally known, “football law” is male-dominated. This is also demonstrated in the fact that of the 53 contributing authors, all of them good colleagues and most of them renowned in their field, only eight are female (15%). Their opinions, however, are of great importance to the book due to the subject matter on which these women have contributed, such as player contracts (Jane Mulcahy QC), player transfers (Liz Coley), immigration issues in football (Emma Mason), broadcasting (Anita Davies) or disciplinary issues (Alice Bricogne).

The book is a success not only due to the great good work done by its editor, Nick De Marco QC but first and foremost due to its content, masterfully prepared by all 53 authors. On the one hand, the editor carefully delimited and structured the scope of each topic in a logical order and in order to avoid overlaps (a daunting task in case of edited volumes with numerous contributors like this one!), while on the other hand, all 53 authors followed a logical and consistent structure in their chapters and ensured an expert analysis that would have not been possible had this book been authored by one single person.  

Overall, I found this book to be a great initiative and a very useful and comprehensive guide written by some of the most reputable experts. The chapters are drafted in a clear and understandable way and the editor did a great job putting together some of the most relevant and topical legal and regulatory issues from the football field, thus filling a much-needed gap in the “football law” literature.

On Wednesday 31 March 2021 from 16.00-17.30 CET, the Asser International Sports Law Centre, in collaboration with Dr Marjolaine Viret (University of Lausanne), is organising its fourth Zoom In webinar on the recent developments arising from the decision of the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT) in the case Caster Semenya v. International Association of Athletics Federations (now World Athletics), delivered on 25 August 2020.

Background
The participation of athletes with biological sex differences to international competitions is one of the most controversial issues in transnational sports law. In particular, since 2019, Caster Semenya, an Olympic champion from South-Africa has been challenging the World Athletics eligibility rules for Athletes with Differences of Sex Development (DSD Regulation), which would currently bar her from accessing international competitions (such as the Tokyo Olympics) unless she accepts to undergo medical treatment aimed at reducing her testosterone levels. In April 2019, the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected her challenge against the DSD Regulation in a lengthy award. In response, Caster Semenya and the South African Athletics Federation filed an application to set aside the award before the Swiss Federal Tribunal. In August 2020, the SFT released its decision rejecting Semenya’s challenge of the award (for an extensive commentary of the ruling see Marjolaine Viret’s article on the Asser International Sports Law Blog).

Recently, on 25 February 2021, Caster Semenya announced her decision to lodge an application at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against Switzerland on the basis of this judgment. In this context, we thought it important to organise a Zoom In webinar around the decision of the SFT and the pending case before the ECtHR. Indeed, should the ECtHR accept the case, it will be in a position to provide a definitive assessment of the human rights compatibility of the DSD Regulation. Moreover, this decision could have important consequences on the role played by human rights in the review of the private regulations and decisions of international sports governing bodies.

Speakers

• Michele Krech (New York University)
• Lena Holzer (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies)
• Prof. Frédéric Bernard (University of Geneva)
• Prof. Antonio Rigozzi (University of Neuchâtel/Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler)

Participation is free, register HERE.

Editor’s note:Pedro is an intern at the Asser Institute and currently studying the Erasmus Mundus Master Degree in Sports Ethics and Integrity (KU Leuven et al.) He was one of the participants of the first edition of the Summer Programme on Sports Governance and Human Rights.

In early September, the first Summer Programme on the Governance of Sport and Human Rights took place at the Asser Institute. During one week, various experts in the field presented different lectures to a very diverse group of participants with a wide range of professional backgrounds. Being a participant myself, I would like to reflect on this one-week course and share what I learned.

Day I – Sport and human rights, more than a current debate

Over the last few years, social media, newspapers and academia have increasingly paid attention to the relationship between sport and human rights. On this first day of the course, we had the opportunity to understand the roots of this debate and its importance. Stephen Cockburn, Head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International and also lead on sport and human rights, took us back to the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, when various civil society organisations (CSOs) were already advocating respect for human rights in the context of the tournament or even calling for a boycott of it. Stephen underlined the critical role that CSOs have played in pushing for greater respect for human rights in sport and how forty years after the World Cup in Argentina, the same situations and demands are often replicated. In this context, William Rook, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operational Officer of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR) introduced the work of his organisation. Reviewing the background of the organisation’s establishment, as well as its vision for and mission in the sports industry, we were able to understand the importance of this type of institution to exert pressure and serve as a convening point between the different stakeholders. Finally, Dr Jörg Krieger closed the day with an overview of the history of the human rights movement in sport. Dr Krieger explained to us the fundamental role that human rights have played since the birth of sport and the Olympic movement and how understanding this evolution can help us to overcome the challenges we face today. Because as Winston Churchill wrote, “those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”.

At the end of this first day, all participants, speakers, and colleagues of the Asser Institute were able to connect more during an opening reception in a café in The Hague.

Day II – Integrating human rights in the governance of sport

How are sports organisations integrating human rights considerations and commitments into their governance? This was the central question of the second day of the course, where Rachel Davis, Co-founder and Vice President of Shift, brilliantly introduced the role that the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) are playing in the development of human rights policies in sports organisations and especially in the organisation of sports events; aspects that were later developed by Alison Biscoe, from CSHR, who explained the process of creating a human rights policy and the challenges that come with it. Before that,  David Grevemberg, Chief Innovation and Partnerships Officer of the CSHR, introduced the ecosystem of sport, providing an overview of the different types of actors involved and interacting with each other. These talks helped us to understand the complexity behind sport governance and the obstacles that this ecosystem itself poses to the protection of human rights. Finally, both Gijs de Jong, Secretary-General of the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) and Dr Andreas Graf, Head of Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination at FIFA, explained how both institutions are working to address the human rights risks and impacts associated with their activities. De Jong explained how the KNVB focuses on advocacy and social media campaigns to raise awareness and Graf outlined how FIFA has focused its efforts on the development of a human rights policy and the implementation of human rights due diligence for the bidding, preparation and hosting of FIFA tournaments.

This day served to outline that although some organisations such as FIFA or the KNVB are taking action with varying degrees of success, there is still a long way ahead for most sport governing bodies to adequately address their human rights impacts and live up to their responsibility to respect human rights. The adoption of human rights policies is only the first step and subsequent steps are necessary for the implementation of these policies and to ensure that these policies are fully integrated by the members of these organisations, whether at an international or national level.

Day III – Human rights, Mega-Sporting Events (MSEs) and Qatar 2022

If we talk about human rights and sport, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the situation of migrant workers building the infrastructure for the tournament. Therefore, the Qatar World Cup served as a case study on day three, which was dedicated to mega-sporting events.  An introduction to MSEs, their organisation and their human rights impacts was given by Dr Daniela Heerdt, which served as a basis for the following presentation by Natasha da Silva, Senior Policy Executive at the Australian Human Rights Commission. She presented the work that the Commission did for the human rights risk assessment for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The result was a complex document that illustrates the different risks involved in organising this event. The afternoon’s case study on the Qatar 2022 World Cup included presentations by Mahmoud Qutub (Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy), Ambet Yuson (BWI), Mustafa Qadri (Equidem) and Dr Andreas Graf (FIFA). It was an enriching experience to listen in the same room the differing points of view and the approaches that each one uses to minimise (somehow) the negative impacts of the World Cup organisation.

Day IV – Athletes’ rights at FIFPro

After three days on the premises of the Asser Institute, we headed to the city of Hoofddorp, where FIFPro’s headquarters are located. There, different representatives of FIFPro presented the work of the organisation, how it is structured and functioning, as well as the different projects they have been involved in to advance the rights of professional football players. The topics varied, but always with athletes’ rights as the red thread. Andrea Florence, director of the Sports and Rights Alliance, also presented on the issue of child athletes and abuse in the sporting context. In my view, the most interesting part of the day came in the afternoon. Alexandra Gomez-Bruinewoud presented several cases that FIFPro has worked on or is currently working on. Afterwards, the participants were divided into groups and were asked to work on these cases and propose solutions to vindicate the rights of the players concerned. Thanks to this exercise, we realised how difficult it is to defend athletes’ rights and the complex institutional constraints and legal intricacies that must be navigated to uphold their rights. The day ended with a reception in FIFPro’s lounge, where we could chat with members of the organisation and share experiences and contacts.

Day V – Access to remedy

The three pillars of the UNGPs are “respect, protect and remedy”. For four days, we paid attention to the first two concepts, so the last day of the programme was logically focused on the remedy pillar. Both Dr Daniela Heerdt and Dr Antoine Duval introduced and defined the concept of remedy, as well as the deficiencies of the current sport system in order to address sport-related human rights harms. Including the ineffective role of the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in remedying sport-related human rights harms. To illustrate this, Patrick Bracher, director of Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa, illustrated the problems and difficulties involved in defending the rights of South African athlete Caster Semenya at the CAS and the Swiss Federal Tribunal. Finally, Florian Yelin, Head of Policy and Research at the World Player Association, presented the work that World Players has been doing and its proposal for an arbitration system outside the CAS. This mechanism attempts to alleviate the deficits of the CAS and serve as an alternative. However, it is still in the development phase, and it remains to be seen whether it will be able to become a real alternative in the future.

In a final and informal session of the course, all participants could freely share with the main coordinator of the course, Dr Daniela Heerdt, our opinion on the past days, what we have learned, what we enjoyed and what aspects of the course could be improved.

Final thoughts

News, conferences, tweets, academic articles... different are the sources that tell us about the role of human rights in sport. During years of studying this subject, I always missed a course that addressed this subject from both a theoretical and practical point of view. Being able to participate in the Summer Programme has been an enriching opportunity for me. I am not just talking about intellectual enrichment, as the amount of information and lessons learned has exceeded my expectations. I go beyond that. Sharing a week of learning with people from different nationalities, ages, cultures or professional backgrounds brings much more than hours of reading in front of the screen. When a group of individuals share the same interests and decide to invest their time and resources in learning about human rights and sport, the likelihood of learning increases exponentially. Over the course of five days, a community was created at the Asser Institute where people could discuss any topic, contrast different positions, challenge the speakers and, of course, share moments of laughter and anecdotes. And the latter is what the programme has given me the most. Meeting a magnificent group of professionals who, in their day-to-day work, fight for sport to have a positive impact on the human rights of all those who are part of its ecosystem.