Editor's note: This report compiles all relevant news, events and materials on International and European Sports Law based on the daily coverage provided on our twitter feed @Sportslaw_asser. You are invited to complete this survey via the comments section below, feel free to add links to important cases, documents and articles we might have overlooked.

The Headlines

FIFA and FIFPro sign landmark agreement

A six-year cooperation agreement concluded between FIFA and FIFPro on 6 November 2017 puts an end to protracted negotiations which began after the latter had filed in September 2015 a complaint with the European Commission, challenging the validity of the FIFA transfer system under EU competition law. This agreement, together with an accord reached between FIFA, FIFPro, the European Club Association, and the World Leagues Forum under the umbrella of the FIFA Football Stakeholders Committee, should help streamline dispute resolution between players and clubs, avoid abusive practices in the world of football, or contribute to the growth of professional women's football. In addition, the FIFA Football Stakeholders Committee is now expected to establish a task force to study and conduct a broader review of the transfer system. As part of the deal, FIFPro agreed to withdraw its EU competition law complaint.

FIFA strengthens its human rights commitment amid reports of journalists getting arrested in Russia

It is fair to say that human rights have been at the forefront of FIFA's agenda in 2017. Following the establishment of the Human Rights Advisory Board in March and the adoption of the Human Rights Policy in June this year, in November FIFA published the bidding regulations for the 2026 World Cup. Under these new regulations, member associations bidding to host the final tournament shall, inter alia, commit themselves to respecting all internationally recognised human rights in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights or present a human rights strategy on how they intend to honour this commitment. Importantly, the human rights strategy must include a comprehensive report that is to be complemented and informed by a study elaborated by an independent expert organisation. Moreover, on 9 November 2017, the Human Rights Advisory Board published its first report in which it outlined several recommendations for FIFA on how to further strengthen its efforts to ensure respect for human rights.

While all these attempts to enhance human rights protection are no doubt praiseworthy, they have not yet produced the desired effect as reports of gross human rights abuses linked to FIFA's activities continue to emerge. Most recently, Human Rights Watch documented how Russian police arrested a newspaper editor and a human rights defender whose work focused on exposing World Cup-related corruption and exploitation of migrant construction workers. On a more positive note, a bit of hope comes with the announcement by a diverse coalition, including FIFA, UEFA, and the International Olympic Committee, of its intention to launch a new independent Centre for Sport and Human Rights in 2018.

More than 20 Russian athletes sanctioned by the Oswald Commission for anti-doping rule violations at the Sochi Games   

November has been a busy month for the International Olympic Committee, especially for its Oswald Commission. Established in July 2016 after the first part of the McLaren Independent Investigation Report had been published, the Oswald Commission is tasked with investigating the alleged doping violations by Russian athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Its first sanctions were handed down last month. As of 30 November 2017, the Commission chaired by the IOC Member Denis Oswald sanctioned 22 athletes (see here, here, here, here, here, and here) who competed at the Sochi Olympics in the following sports: biathlon, bobsleigh, cross country skiing, skeleton, and speed skating. The Commission published its first full decision on 27 November 2017 in the case against the cross country skier Alexander Legkov, a gold and silver medallist from the Sochi Olympics, who was ultimately banned for life from attending another Olympics.

Sports Law Related Decisions

• CAS – Award delivered in the arbitration between Danis Zaripov and the International Ice Hockey Federation
• IOC – Decision of the Disciplinary Commission in the proceedings against Alexander Legkov
• Swiss Federal Tribunal – Judgment in the case between Michel Platini and FIFA (translated to English)

Official Documents and Press Releases

• Amnesty International – FIFA under pressure over handling of World Cup construction abuse
• CAS – CAS cancels two fines imposed on the Mexican Football Federation and imposes warnings in their place
• CAS – CAS rejects an application for urgent provisional measures filed by Adrien Silva
• CAS – CAS upholds the appeal of football club Real Garcilaso; decision of the Peruvian Football Federation reversed
• FIFA – Adjudicatory Chamber of the independent Ethics Committee bans former football officials
• FIFA – Circular no. 1600 re participation of clubs in the benefits of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia
• FIFA – Circular no. 1601 re professional female players in the international transfer matching system
• FIFA – FIFA and FIFPro sign landmark agreement and announce measures to enhance professional football
• FIFA – First report of the FIFA Human Rights Advisory Board
• FIFA – Guide to the bidding process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
• FIFPro – Player unions create sexual abuse protocols
• FIFPro – Turkish football tribunal questioned
• Human Rights Watch – Russian human rights defender faces police in court
• IOC – IOC President highlights athletes' exemplary role as the UN General Assembly adopts Olympic Truce for Pyeongchang 2018 by consensus
• IOC – IOC sanctions Russian athletes Anna Nazarova and Yulia Gushchina for failing anti-doping tests at London 2012
• IOC – Oswald Commission findings with regard to Russian athletes:
• Aleksandr Kas'yanov, Aleksei Pushkarev, and Iivir Khuzin
• Alexander Legkov and Evgeniy Belov

• Olga Stulneva, Aleksandr Zubkov, Olga Fatkulina, and Aleksander Rumyantsev
• Sergei Chudino, Aleksei Negodailo, Dmitrii Trunenkov, Yana Romanova, and Olga Vilukhina
• Yuliia Ivanova, Alexey Petukhov, Evgeniya Shapovalova, and Maksim Vylegzhanin
• IOC – Statement on IOC member Frank Fredericks
• United Nations General Assembly – Draft resolution on building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal
• WADA – Compliance Review Committee update
• WADA – Foundation Board takes important decisions that will significantly strengthen the Agency and the future of clean sport
• WADA – WADA in possession of new intelligence from Moscow Laboratory
• WADA – WADA suspends accreditation of Paris Laboratory
• WADA – WADA welcomes the IOC Oswald Commission’s first sanctions against Russian athletes identified via the Agency’s McLaren Investigation

In the news

Doping

• Rachel Axon How will World Anti-Doping Agency decision on Russia impact International Olympic Committee?
• Andy Brown Russian investigation denies WADA evidence and State doping
• Nick Butler WADA obtain key database proving Russian doping before Sochi 2014
• Govorit Moskva The honorary president of Russia’s Olympic Committee says the whistleblower who exposed Moscow’s doping program ‘should be shot, like Stalin would have done’
• Duncan Mackay South African golfer banned after failing drugs test
• Associated Press FIFA suspend Peru striker Guerrero for failing doping test
• Canadian Press Canadian powerlifter Niko Somos gets two-year sanction for anti-doping violation
• Loretta Race Austrian champion Sebastian Steffan handed 12-month doping ban
• Rebecca R. Ruiz Olympic doping diaries: Chemist's notes bolster case against Russia 

Football

• BBC News FIFA insists Isha Johansen is still Sierra Leone FA President
• BBC News Paradise Papers: Who is in control of Everton?
• David Conn FIFA urged to press Qatar on conditions for World Cup stadium workers
• David Conn How the FBI won ‘the World Cup of fraud’ as FIFA scandal arrives in court
• Simon Griver Match not over as West Bank football claim moves to court
• Josimar Interview with Miguel Maduro, former chair of FIFA’s Governance Committee
• Martha Kelner Gay fans warned holding hands at Russia World Cup will be dangerous
• Lombardi Associates The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejects Genoa CFC’s appeal against FIFA decision
• Tariq Panja As sponsors shy away, FIFA faces World Cup shortfall
• Keir Radnedge Warner secures new delay in fight against FIFAGate extradition to United States
• Barney Ronay FIFA’s World Cup debacle is not just about money – there is horror and death too
• Rebecca R. Ruiz FIFA trial: Notable moments from first four days
• Sui-Lee Wee, Ryan McMorrow and Tariq Panja China’s soccer push puts a storied team under murky ownership
• Minky Worden Time for FIFA to act on human rights

Other

• Katie Gainer 2018 Winter Olympics tickets sales could set historic low
• Tariq Panja Powerful Sheikh linked to sports corruption case resurfaces in Prague
• Reuters EU set to rule in favour of speed skaters over ISU ban threat

Academic Materials

• Leonardo de Oliveira Lex Sportiva as the Contractual Governing Law

Blogs

Asser International Sports Law Blog

•  Oytun Azkanar Illegally Obtained Evidence in Match-Fixing Cases: The Turkish Perspective

• Report from the first ISLJ Annual International Sports Law Conference – 26-27 October at the T.M.C. Asser Institute

Law in Sport

• Sarah Bruce Is bridge a sport for VAT purposes? The ECJ's decision in English Bridge Union v. HMRC
• Richard Cooke The lifecycle of an international athlete: Part 9 – Key tips on renovating or building a home
• Hamish Corner The lifecycle of an international athlete: Part 10 – Negotiating sponsorship & endorsements deals
• Ani Ghazikhanian Cycling, doping & the importance of due process: A review of the Karl Murray case
• Mathilde Groppo Defamation in sport: A comparison of the law in France, England and Australia
• Joseph Richmond Financial Fair Play: How clubs justify spending & related party transactions

Others

• Declan Hill FIFA trial: It is a mob affair

Upcoming Events

• 3-4 July 2018 – 13^th Sport & EU Annual Conference, Edge Hill University, England

 Editor's note: This report compiles all relevant news, events and materials on International and European Sports Law based on the daily coverage provided on our twitter feed @Sportslaw_asser. You are invited to complete this survey via the comments section below, feel free to add links to important cases, documents and articles we might have overlooked.

The Headlines 

The CAS award in RFC Seraing v. FIFA

On 10 March 2017, FIFA published a short press release which praised the long-awaited award delivered by the CAS in the appeal of the Belgian football club RFC Seraing against FIFA’s decision. The French version of the award is now available on the CAS’s website.

The dispute in question emerged from agreements concluded between RFC Seraing and Doyen Sports Investments Limited, a private investment company known for its engagement in the acquisition of professional football players’ economic rights (Doyen). These agreements allowed Doyen to (i) influence the independence and the policy of the Belgian club; and (ii) receive an indemnity payable in connection with the future transfer of certain players. In September 2015, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee held that by entering into these agreements, RFC Seraing violated Articles 18bis and 18ter of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) prohibiting the third-party influence on clubs and the third-party ownership of players’ economic rights. As a result, the Belgian club was banned from registering players on a national and international level for four consecutive registration periods and obliged to pay a fine of CHF 150,000.

On appeal, the CAS Panel has confirmed that Articles 18bis and 18ter RSTP are valid under European law and Swiss law. Having considered the sanction imposed by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on RFC Seraing disproportionate, the CAS Panel reduced the transfer ban from four to three consecutive registration periods. For an in-depth analysis of the award, we invite you to read the recent blog written by our senior researcher Mr Antoine Duval.

The CAS award in Olga Abramova v. International Biathlon Union

On 1 January 2016, WADA prohibited the use of meldonium for the first time. A few days later, Ms Olga Abramova, a Russian-born Ukrainian biathlete, underwent an in-competition doping control which revealed the presence of meldonium in her body. An independent investigation was conducted by the Anti-Doping Hearing Panel (ADHP) of the International Biathlon Union. On 14 November 2016, the ADHP rendered a decision in which (i) Ms Abramova was found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation (meldonium); and (ii) a one-year period of ineligibility was imposed on her. Eventually, Ms Abramova appealed the said decision before the CAS.

In its press release dated 19 April 2017, the CAS announced that the appeal filed by Ms Abramova had been partially upheld. The CAS Panel has found to its comfortable satisfaction that Ms Abramova fulfilled her obligation to ensure that meldonium did not enter her body after 1 January 2016 (i.e. the date when meldonium was added to the list of prohibited substances). In other words, Ms Abramova ‘could not reasonably have known or suspected even with the exercise of utmost caution that meldonium could still be detected in her blood after 1 January 2016’. Accordingly, the CAS Panel has cancelled the one-year period of ineligibility imposed on Ms Abramova. It should be noted, however, that, in accordance with WADA Guidelines, the CAS Panel has confirmed the disqualification of any results achieved by Ms Abramova between 10 January 2016 and 3 February 2016.

France investigates potential corruption linked to the selection procedure for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup

Following the United States and Switzerland, France has recently become the third country to open a criminal investigation into potential corruption relating to the selection procedure for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup finals which are scheduled to take place in Russia and Qatar respectively. The Parquet National Financier, a French authority responsible for law enforcement against serious financial crime, has reportedly interviewed the former FIFA President Mr Joseph Blatter. The former UEFA President Mr Michel Platini, who admitted in the past that he had eventually decided to cast his vote for Qatar following a lunch with the former French President Mr Nicolas Sarkozy and senior Qatari officials, has not been interrogated by French authorities yet.

Sports Law Related Decisions

• CAS – Award delivered in the arbitration between RFC Seraing and FIFA
• Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (Spanish competition authority) – Decision on Liga Endesa and its anticompetitive behaviour
• European Commission – Decision on support from central government of the Czech Republic to non-profit sport facilities

Official Documents and Press Releases

• CAS – CAS cancels the one-year period of ineligibility imposed on Olga Abramova
• CAS – CAS issues decisions in the cases of Stanislav Emelyanov, Ekaterina Poistogova, Vladimir Kazarin and Alexey Melnikov
• FIFA – Activity report 2016
• FIFA – Agenda of the 67^th FIFA Congress
• FIFA – FIFA publishes new annual reports and confirms target result of USD 100 million for cycle
• FIFA – Financial report 2016
• FIFA – Football official Richard K. Lai banned by independent Ethics Committee for 90 days from all football activities
• FIFA – Governance report 2016
• IAAF – Independent Athletics Integrity Unit is operational
• IOC – IOC sanctions three athletes for failing anti-doping test at Beijing 2008 and London 2012
• IOC – IOC sanctions two athletes for failing anti-doping test at Beijing 2008 and London 2012
• Paralympic Movement – CAS decision on Russian Paralympic Committee confirmed by the Swiss Federal Tribunal
• UEFA – Three clubs exit settlement agreement with CFCB
• UEFA – UEFA Congress approves good governance reforms
• WADA – 2015 Anti-doping rule violations report
• WADA – Statement regarding Italian Tribunal decision on Michele Ferrari and entourage
• WADA – Statement on ARD documentary
• WADA – WADA reinstates the Madrid Laboratory
• WADA – WADA removes Brazil from the World Anti-Doping Code non-compliant list
• WADA – Yemen ratifies UNECO Anti-Doping Convention

In the news

Doping

• AFP News UK chief calls for more money in fight against doping
• The Associated Press 5 Russians banned for doping at Olympics
• The Associated Press IAAF clears 2 Russian world champions, 5 others to compete
• The Associated Press Lawmaker in Russia fights Olympic doping case at CAS
• Andy Brown Meldonium 2.0? Jamaican case highlights need for clenbuterol thresholds
• Hajo Seppelt and Thilo Neumann IOC sweeps test results under the carpet
• Sky Sports UEFA unhappy with WADA over Mamadou Sakho’s ban
• Joscha Weber Doping pressure mounts on IOC at German parliament

Football 

• Andy Brown CONMEBOL publishes details of suspicious bank transfers totalling USD 129 million
• CIES Football Observatory The Champions League among the most unbalanced competitions
• David Conn France investigates votes for 2018 and 2022 World Cups and questions Blatter
• David Conn Newcastle United and West Ham raided in HMRC tax fraud investigation
• Rob Harris Anglo-French soccer fraud probe sees raids on teems, arrests
• Liam Morgan Sheikh Ahmad resigns from all footballing roles following alleged corruption link
• MSN Qatar football official wins FIFA ban appeal
•  Reuters FIFA compliance official pleads guilty in U.S. bribery case
• Reuters Genoa defender Armando Izzo banned for 18 months over match-fixing claims
• Charles Sale FIFA legal bills for investigation into corruption in football hit £80 million mark
• Stephan Uersfeld DFB backs Bild over claims of Russian censorship for Confederations Cu

Other

• Nick Butler IOC ban 2024 candidate cities from Pan-American Sports Organisation General Assembly
• Bryan Armen Graham eSports to be a medal event at 2022 Asian Games
• Craig Lord Governance review lawyers tell FINA that Ethics Panel must have stand-alone powers
• Reuters CAS upholds Mexican player’s appeal against match-fixing ban

Academic Materials

 International Sports Law Journal, April 2017, Volume 16, Issue 3

• Johan Lindholm Editorial to the International Sports Law Journal, Volume 16, Issue 3-4
• Mordehai Mironi The Promise of Mediation in Sports-related Disputes
• Oskar van Maren How to Bail Out Your Local Club: The Application of the State Aid Rules to Professional Football Clubs in Financial Difficulty
• Antoine Duval The Russian Doping Scandal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport: Lessons for the World Anti-Doping System
• Paolo Garraffa Michael Jordan’s Who? The Trade Mark Litigation between Michael Jordan and ‘Qiaodan’ Sports
• Terence D. Brennan Over Compensation: The Battle for Training Compensation and Solidarity in United States Soccer
• Salomeja Zaksaite and Karolis Radoševičius Manipulation of Competitions in Formula 1: Where Policy Ends and Cheating Begins
• Jonathan G. Merritt ‘Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth: Regulating for Integrity, What Equestrianism Can Learn from Thoroughbred Racing’
• Claire Sumner The Spirit of Sport: The Case for Criminalisation of Doping in the UK

Others

• Borja García A New Horizon in European Sports Law: The Application of the EU State Aid Rules Meets the Specific Nature of Sport
• John Grady Analysing Rule 40’s Restrictions on Using Athletes in Olympic Sponsorship at Rio 2016
• Maureen Weston The Regulation of Doping in U.S. and International Sports
• Salomeja Zaksaite and Karolis Radoševičius Manipulation of Competitions in Formula 1: Where Policy Ends and Cheating Begins

Blog

Asser International Sports Law Blog

• Antoine Duval RFC Seraing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport: How FIFA’s TPO Ban Survived (Again) EU Law Scrutiny
• Saverio Spera The Validity of Unilateral Extension Options in Football – Part 1: A European Legal Mess
• Adriaan Wijckmans The Legality of Surety Undertakings in Relation to Minor Football Players: The Lokilo Case

Law in Sport

• Thomas Barnard Six key points for footballers to consider when signing their first professional contract
• Lydia Banerjee How a change in approach could help tackle racism in football – The Jonjo Shelvey case
• Manali Kulkarni Child welfare in sport – How different countries approach mitigating the risks relating to contact sports for children
• Despina Mavromati The application of Swiss law in doping cases before the CAS and the Swiss Federal Tribunal
• Zane Shibab, James Thorndyke and Thomas Gibby How to recover prize money from doping athletes: Lessons for event organisers from the Shobukhova case
• Jamie Singer and Leon Farr Changing nationality in sport: Where should we draw the line? A review of the Aljaz Bedene case

Others

• Aage Radmann Another book about football hooliganism – is that really necessary?
• Andreas Selliaas How far should governments go controlling the governance of international sports federations?
• Ross Tucker On the Jamaican clenbuterol positives: A procedural failure and credibility black hole
• Mike Woitalla How FIFA rules hurt immigrant children in the USA

Upcoming Events 

• 7-9 June – International Conference on Doping and Public Health, Thon Hotel Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway
• 29-30 June – Sport & EU 12^th Annual Conference, Molde University College, Molde, Norway
• 26-27 October – ISLJ Annual Conference on International Sports Law, T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague, the Netherlands. Save the date!

Editor's note: This report compiles all relevant news, events and materials on International and European Sports Law based on the daily coverage provided on our twitter feed @Sportslaw_asser. You are invited to complete this survey via the comments section below, feel free to add links to important cases, documents and articles we might have overlooked.

The Headlines 

Caster Semenya learns that it is not always easy for victims of discrimination to prevail in court

The world of sport held its breath as the Secretary General of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Matthieu Reeb stood before the microphones on 1 May 2019 to announce the verdict reached by three arbitrators (one of them dissenting) in the landmark case involving the South African Olympic and world champion Caster Semenya. Somewhat surprisingly, the panel of arbitrators came to the conclusion that the IAAF’s regulations requiring female athletes with differences of sexual development to reduce their natural testosterone level below the limit of 5 nmol/L and maintain that reduced level for a continuous period of at least six months in order to be eligible to compete internationally at events between 400 metres and a mile, were necessary, reasonable and proportionate to attain the legitimate aim of ensuring fair competition in female athletics, even though the panel recognised that the regulations were clearly discriminatory. Ms Semenya’s legal team decided to file an appeal against the ruling at the Swiss Federal Tribunal. For the time being, this appears to be a good move since the tribunal ordered the IAAF at the beginning of June to suspend the application of the challenged regulations to Ms Semenya with immediate effect, which means that Ms Semenya for now continues to run medication-free.

Champions League ban looms on Manchester City

On 18 May 2019, Manchester City completed a historic domestic treble after defeating Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup Final. And yet there is a good reason to believe that the club’s executives did not celebrate as much as they would under normal circumstances. This is because only two days before the FA Cup Final the news broke that the chief investigator of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) had decided to refer Manchester City’s case concerning allegations of financial fair play irregularities to the CFCB adjudicatory chamber for a final decision. Thus, the chief investigator most likely found that Manchester City had indeed misled UEFA over the real value of its sponsorship income from the state-owned airline Etihad and other companies based in Abu Dhabi, as the leaked internal emails and other documents published by the German magazine Der Spiegel suggested. The chief investigator is also thought to have recommended that a ban on participation in the Champions League for at least one season be imposed on the English club. The club’s representatives responded to the news with fury and disbelief, insisting that the CFCB investigatory chamber had failed to take into account a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence it had been provided with. They eventually decided not to wait for the decision of the CFCB adjudicatory chamber, which is yet to be adopted, and meanwhile took the case to the CAS, filing an appeal against the chief investigator’s referral.

The Brussels Court of Appeal dismisses Striani’s appeal on jurisdictional grounds

The player agent Daniele Striani failed to convince the Brussels Court of Appeal that it had jurisdiction to entertain his case targeting UEFA’s financial fair play regulations. On 11 April 2019, the respective court dismissed his appeal against the judgment of the first-instance court without pronouncing itself on the question of compatibility of UEFA’s financial fair play regulations with EU law. The court held that it was not competent to hear the case because the link between the regulations and their effect on Mr Striani as a player agent, as well as the link between the regulations and the role of the Royal Belgian Football Association in their adoption and enforcement, was too remote (for a more detailed analysis of the decision, see Antoine’s blog here). The Brussels Court of Appeal thus joined the European Court of Justice and the European Commission as both these institutions had likewise rejected to assess the case on its merits in the past.

Sports Law Related Decisions

• Court of Justice of the European Union (General Court) – Judgment in the case Real Madrid Club de Futbol v European Commission

Official Documents and Press Releases

CAS

• CAS – Caster Semenya, Athletics South Africa (ASA) and International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF): Decision
• CAS – Caster Semenya, Athletics South Africa (ASA) and International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF): Executive summary
• CAS – Decision in the arbitration procedure between Worawi Makudi and FIFA: Sanction reduced
• CAS – Elections of the Board Members of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS)
• CAS – Weighlifters Mikalai Novikau and Ruslan Nurudinov found to have committed anti-doping rule violations at the London 2012 Olympic Games

FIFA

• FIFA – Adjudicatory Chamber of the independent Ethics Committee sanctions Jose Maria Marin
• FIFA – FIFA Appeal Committee confirms ban imposed on Marco Polo Del Nero
• FIFA – FIFA Appeal Committee passes decision on appeal lodged by Chelsea FC
• FIFA – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 to be played with 32 teams
• FIFA – Nine individuals sanctioned for match manipulation
• FIFA – RSC Anderlecht and Belgian Football Association sanctioned for international transfers of minors
• FIFA – Worldwide extension of suspension imposed on intermediaries Carmine and Vincenzo Raiola

IOC

• IOC – From food and uniforms to sponsorship deals: IOC guides to help the Olympic Games and the sports sector adopt sustainable sourcing practices
• IOC – Future Olympic Games elections to be more flexible
• IOC – Independent research conducted on behalf of the IOC demonstrates global strength of the Olympic values
• IOC – IOC Evaluation Commission 2026 begins working visit to Milan-Cortina
• IOC – IOC Evaluation Commission confirms passion and expertise of Milan-Cortina project shaped by Olympic Agenda 2020
• IOC – IOC Executive Board proposes 10 new members for election to the IOC Session
• IOC – IOC releases Evaluation Commission 2026 report
• IOC – IOC sanctions one athlete for failing anti-doping tests at London 2012
• IOC – IOC sanctions two athletes for failing anti-doping tests at London 2012
• IOC – Uncovered: The work and value of the IOC Athletes’ Commission

UEFA

• UEFA – AC Milan referred to CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber
• UEFA – CFCB update on 2018/19 monitoring of clubs under FFP settlements
• UEFA – FK Vardar and PFC Levski Sofia avoid potential exclusion from UEFA club competitions
• UEFA – Law changes to apply from 25 June in UEFA competitions
• UEFA – Manchester City referred to CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber
• UEFA – Three clubs exit FFP settlement agreement
• UEFA – Time for Action: First ever UEFA women’s football strategy launched

WADA

• WADA – Timor-Leste becomes 188^th country to ratify UNESCO Anti-Doping Convention
• WADA – WADA announces self-suspension of the Helsinki laboratory
• WADA – WADA congratulates Presidential nominee Witold Banka
• WADA – WADA Foundation Board moves forward with implementation of governance reforms
• WADA – WADA hails 30^th Anniversary of Council of Europe Anti-Doping Convention
• WADA – WADA publishes four new Technical Documents
• WADA – WADA publishes independent report into allegations of improper conduct
• WADA – WADA publishes revised International Standard for Laboratories
• WADA – WADA publishes Stakeholder Notice regarding meat contamination
• WADA – WADA reinstates Bucharest Laboratory
• WADA – WADA statement on refusal of Beckie Scott and Edwin Moses to cooperate with independent investigation
• WADA – WADA successfully retrieves samples from Moscow Laboratory
• WADA – WADA welcomes significant decision by Court of Arbitration for Sport

Other

• AIU (Athletics Integrity Unit) – After Ukraine sprinters’ ban, AIU to extend its blood profiling strategy ahead of the IAAF World Championships Doha 2019
• AIU (Athletics Integrity Unit) – Athletics Integrity Unit and Abbott World Marathon Majors announce new intelligence and testing programme in groundbreaking anti-doping initiative
• Centre for Sport and Human Rights – Mapping accountability and remedy mechanisms for sport
• CIES Football Observatory World football expatriates: Global study 2019
• CIES Sports Intelligence – Governance and financial landscape of top European football clubs
• Council of Europe Ground-breaking international treaty on match-fixing to enter into force in September
• Human Rights Watch – Belarus: Use European games to spur media freedom
• IAAF – IAAF letter to the World Medical Association
• IAAF – IAAF publishes briefing notes and Q&A on female eligibility regulations
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Benjamin D’Hoe suspended and fined for betting on tennis
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Brazilian tennis player Joao Souza provisionally suspended by independent Anti-corruption Hearing Officer
• TIU (Tennis Integirty Unit) – Independent Anti-corruption Hearing Officer suspends Osman Torski for breach of the Tennis Anti-corruption programme
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Independent members appointed to the Supervisory Board for Tennis Integrity
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Issam Taweel found guilty of match-fixing offences by independent Anti-corruption Hearing Officer
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Lifetime ban and $20,000 fine for Helen Ploskina after being found guilty of match-fixing offences
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Nigerian tennis player Henry Atseye provisionally suspended by independent Anti-corruption Hearing Officer
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Suspended sentence and fine for Mohamed Safwat after failing to report corrupt approaches to the Tennis Integrity Unit
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Tennis coach Miguel Tobon suspended and fined for selling wild cards
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Tennis umpire Svetlana Teryaeva facing sanction after failing to report a corrupt approach to the Tennis Integrity Unit
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – The Tennis Integrity Unit and Marco Trungelliti
• UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) – UCI declaration concerning E-mountain bike
• UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) – UCI statement on Operation Aderlass
• UOKiK (Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in Poland) – UOKiK will inspect sports associations
• World Medical Association Physician leaders reaffirm opposition to IAAF rules

In the news

Doping

• ESPN Kenya’s Olympic track coach banned 10 years
• Sean Ingle World’s top marathon runners to face innovative anti-doping programme
• Duncan Mackay Critics of WADA decision to reinstate Russia care more about politics than clean sport, claims President Sir Craig Reedie
• Michael Pavitt Arrests made in France over alleged drug trafficking operation
• Michael Pavitt Biathlon Integrity Unit to be set up by IBU in response to doping, fraud and corruption allegations
• Eddie Pells Polish minister to lead WADA; outspoken candidate sidelined
• Dan Roan US proposes making WADA funding conditional on governance reforms and greater transparency
• Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber Russian anti-doping chief calls for dismissal of athletics federation head

Football

• Associated Press FIFA bans South Sudanese official for taking soccer money
• BBC Sport Mino Raiola: Paul Pogba’s agent banned for three months by FIFA
• Andy Brown Bulgaria relegates FC Vereya on receipt of UEFA match-fixing information
• David Conn 2022 World Cup in Qatar to remain as a 32-team tournament, FIFA announces
• David Conn Manchester City accuse UEFA of leaks amid Champions League ban threat
• David Conn Manchester City furious after UEFA investigation is sent for final judgment
• David Conn Premier League clubs’ record £4.8 billion revenues widens gap to rest of Europe
• David Conn Premier League finances: The full club-by-club breakdown and verdict
• David Conn Promotion and relegation part of explosive Champions League plans
• Marina Hyde UEFA’s ‘parking ticket’ fines will not rein in football’s maverick clubs
• Sean Ingle Manchester City and PSG should be thrown out of Europe, says La Liga president
• Amy Lawrence and Sean Ingle Arsenal’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan to miss Europa League final over safety fears
• Liam Morgan Sierra Leone could be welcomed back by FIFA after president and secretary general cleared of corruption
• Tariq Panja A trove of FIFA secrets, locked inside a New Jersey storage locker
• Tariq Panja Bundesliga’s chief executive isn’t keen to join Premier League
• Tariq Panja China’s soccer push takes a new tack: Naturalizing foreign players
• Tariq Panja FIFA drops plan for 48-team World Cup in 2022
• Tariq Panja For Europe’s soccer chief, the outrage arrives in waves
• Tariq Panja In Europe, a bitter battle between clubs and leagues is taking shape
• Tariq Panja In soccer’s biggest elections, accusations are common but challengers are not
• Tariq Panja Powerful Sheikh linked to bribe scheme is still a soccer power
• Tariq Panja Proposal to restructure Champions League leaves out most of Europe
• Tariq Panja Sepp Blatter, who departed FIFA in scandal, wants the watches he left at the office
• Tariq Panja She has friends at FIFA. At home, it’s mostly critics.
• Tariq Panja UEFA investigators set to seek Manchester City’s ban from Champions League
• Martyn Ziegler Europa League final: Azerbaijan, the host country where journalist Rasim Aliyev was killed for criticising Azerbaijan midfielder Javid Huseynov 

Other

• Eyewitness News Kenya drops two female sprinters over testosterone levels
• Nancy Gillen FIVB to refer human rights abuse allegations surrounding Cambodian Volleyball Federation President to ethics panel
• Mark Gleeson South African government instructs athletics body to appeal Semenya decision
• Gerald Imray Defiant Caster Semenya appeals testosterone ruling
• Sean Ingle AIBA threatens to sue IOC if stripped of right to run amateur boxing
• Sean Ingle AIBA stripped of right to run boxing tournament at Tokyo Olympics
• Sean Ingle BeIN Sports chief in World Athletics Championships corruption inquiry
• Sean Ingle Caster Semenya Q&A: The runner’s discrimination case explained
• Sean Ingle Semenya loses landmark legal case against IAAF over testosterone levels
• Sean Ingle Caster Semenya vs. IAAF: The inside story of sporting trial of the century
• Sean Ingle Caster Semenya to run in Doha as Sebastian Coe welcomes CAS ruling
• Duncan Mackay Italian government to sign IOC guarantees for Milan Cortina 2026, including EUR 415 million security budget
• Liam Morgan German athletes group steps up call for increased representation and bigger share of Olympic revenue
• Tariq Panja After Semenya ruling, sports federations ponder what’s next
• Tariq Panja Qatari executive is charged with corruption in IAAF scandal
• Michael Pavitt Bach tells athletes to begin negotiations with NOCs over Rule 40 restrictions
• Michael Pavitt GAISF considers establishing office to lobby European Union and create framework over third-party organisers
• Michael Pavitt UCI President fears ‘serious issue’ after arbitrators asked to choose between working exclusively for CAS or international federations
• Mike Rowbottom Message to the Olympic Movement in the face of new commercial threats – keep the athletes’ eyes on the golden prize
• Mike Rowbottom IOC maintains German athletes’ court decision over Rule 40 is ‘not generally applicable’
• Stephen Wade and Mari Yamaguchi IOC inspectors face report on tough Olympic work conditions
• Martyn Ziegler Sport won’t be overrun by intersex athletes, says Caster Semenya’s expert witness

Academic Materials

Books

•  Johan Lindholm The Court of Arbitration for Sport and its Jurisprudence: An Empirical Inquiry into Lex Sportiva

International Sports Law Journal

• H. Burak Gemalmaz Applicability of Human Rights Standards in Turkish Football Arbitration: The Contribution of the European Court of Human Rights
• Lloyd Freeburn The Fiction of Democracy in FIFA’s Governance of Football and the Case of Football Federation Australia
• Marlaina Lemmon Evening the Playing Field: Women’s Sport as a Vehicle for Human Rights
• Kendra Magraw Separation of Sport and State: Military Salutations at US Major League Soccer Events
• Daniel West Revitalising a Phantom Regime: The Adjudication of Human Rights Complaints in Sport

Other

• April Henning and Paul Dimeo Perceptions of Legitimacy, Attitudes and Buy-in Among Athlete Groups: A Cross-national Qualitative Investigation Providing Practical Solutions
• Seema Patel and Ian Varley Exploring the Regulation of Genetic Testing in Sport

Blog

Asser International Sports Law Blog

• Antoine Duval What Happens in Switzerland Stays in Switzerland: The Striani Judgment of the Brussels Court of Appeals
• Daniela Heerdt Will the World Cup 2022 Expansion Mark the Beginning of the End of FIFA’s Human Rights Journey?
• Thomas Terraz Can European Citizens Participate in National Championships? An Analysis of AG Tanchev’s Opinion in TopFit e.V. Daniele Biffi v Deutscher Leichtathletikverband e.V.
• Thomas Terraz League of Legends European Championships: Challenging the Boundaries of Sport in EU Law
• Marjolaine Viret How Data Protection Crystallises Key Legal Challenges in Anti-Doping

Law in Sport

• Jiri Janak Judicial oversight of sports associations in the Czech Republic – does the new Civil Code strike the right balance between autonomy and intervention?
• Lucio Mazzei The global development of women’s football – a review of the strategies being implemented by FIFA, UEFA and in Italy
• Adam Powell Stadium naming deals: Why clubs and sponsors should always consider their termination rights
• Andrew Reid Football kit supplier deals – lessons for clubs on ‘matching rights’ from the Sports Direct v Rangers FC case
• Celia Rooney Sex on a spectrum in the binary world of sport: The CAS’s decision in the case of Caster Semenya & Ors v the IAAF

Other

• Andy Brown Red herrings, dead cats, apples and oranges: The gender debate
• Steve Cornelius Caster Semenya: The legal and ethical issues that should concern us all
• Sam Knight How Football Leaks is exposing corruption in European soccer
• Steve Magness All of your questions answered on the Caster Semenya controversy
• Despina Mavromati FIM v. KMSC – Arbitration clause in the statutes of a sports federation and Article 75 Swiss Civil Code
• Michael McCann U.S. soccer, Relevent Sports and the legal battle over staging matches on USA soil
• Roger Pielke Jr Caster Semenya ruling: Sports federation is flouting ethics rules
• Roger Pielke Jr. Pielke comments on Semenya/ASA vs. IAAF

Upcoming Events

• 30 June -14 July – CLS Summer School 2019: Global Law of Sport, Patejdlova Bouda, Giant Mountains, Czech Republic
• 30-31 August – Third EU Sports Law and Policy Summer School, Edge Hill University, UK
• 12-13 September – Understand the Rules of the Game 2019: LawInSport Annual Conference, London, UK
• 27-28 September – 8^th International Congress on Football Law, Madrid, Spain
• 13-16 October – Play the Game 2019: Athlete Power on the Rise, Colorado Springs, USA
• 24-25 October – Third Annual International Sports Law Conference of the International Sports Law Journal, T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague, Netherlands