On Wednesday 26 May 2021 from 16.00-17.00 CET, the Asser International Sports Law Centre, in collaboration with Dr Marjolaine Viret (University of Lausanne), is organising its fifth Zoom In webinar on the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) from the perspective of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

We have the pleasure to be joined by Prof. Helen Keller, former Judge at the ECtHR and a prominent dissenter to the majority’s ruling in the Mutu and Pechstein case.

The ECtHR decision in the Mutu and Pechstein case rendered on 2 October 2018 is widely seen as one of the most important European sports law rulings. It was also the first decision of the Strasbourg court dealing with a case in which the CAS had issued an award. The applicants, Adrian Mutu and Claudia Pechstein, were both challenging the compatibility of CAS proceedings with the procedural rights enshrined in Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court famously declined to conclude that the CAS lacked independence or impartiality, but did find that, insofar as Claudia Pechstein was concerned, she was forced to undergo CAS arbitration and, therefore, that CAS proceedings had to fully comply with the procedural rights guaranteed in the ECHR. In particular, the court held that the refusal by CAS to hold a public hearing, in spite of Claudia Pechstein’s express request, was contrary to Article 6(1) ECHR. Beyond this case, as highlighted by the recent decision of Caster Semenya to submit an application to the ECtHR, the decision opens the way for a more systematic intervention of the Strasbourg court in assessing the human rights compatibility of CAS awards and more broadly of the transnational sports regulations imposed by international sports governing bodies.

Prof. Helen Keller will discuss with us the implications of the ECtHR’s Mutu and Pechstein decision and the potential for future interventions by the court in the realm of the lex sportiva.

The webinar will take the form of an interview followed by a short Q&A open to the digital public. 

Please note the discussion will NOT be recorded and posted on our Youtube channel. 

Register HERE!

Since last year, Doyen Sports, represented by Jean-Louis Dupont, embarked on a legal crusade against FIFA’s TPO ban. It has lodged a competition law complaint with the EU Commission and started court proceedings in France and Belgium. In a first decision on Doyen’s request for provisory measures, the Brussels Court of First Instance rejected the demands raised by Doyen and already refused to send a preliminary reference to the CJEU. Doyen, supported by the Belgium club Seraing, decided to appeal this decision to the Brussels Appeal Court, which rendered its final ruling on the question on 10 March 2016.[1] The decision (on file with us) is rather unspectacular and in line with the first instance judgment. This blog post will rehash the three interesting aspects of the case.

·      The jurisdiction of the Belgian courts

·      The admissibility of Doyen’s action

·      The conditions for awarding provisory measures

I.      The jurisdiction of the Belgian courts

Doyen was not the only party to the dispute dissatisfied with the first instance ruling; FIFA and UEFA also appealed the decision challenging the territorial competence of the Belgian Court to hear the claims raised against FIFA’s TPO ban. They consider that the Swiss courts are solely competent to deal with civil disputes involving its rules and decisions.

As in first instance, the thrust of the ruling on this question turns on the interpretation of the Lugano convention of 2007 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. In principle, under Article 2(1) of the Convention: “Subject to the provisions of this Convention, persons domiciled in a State bound by this Convention shall, whatever their nationality, be sued in the courts of that State.” Thus, translated to the present dispute this would imply that FIFA and UEFA, which are Swiss Associations, are in principle to be sued in front of Swiss courts.

Moreover, to support their view that Swiss Courts have an exclusive jurisdiction, FIFA and UEFA also invoke Article 22(2) Lugano Convention stipulating that “proceedings which have as their object the validity of the constitution, the nullity or the dissolution of companies or other legal persons or associations of natural or legal persons, or of the validity of the decisions of their organs, the courts of the State bound by this Convention in which the company, legal person or association has its seat. In order to determine that seat, the court shall apply its rules of private international law”. Yet, the Appeal Court is of a different opinion and refers to the jurisprudence of the CJEU indicating that Article 22(2) should be interpreted as referring to disputes lodged based on company law or their statutes against decisions of a company or association.

The principle enshrined in Article 2 Lugano Convention is not absolute, many exceptions are provided in the Lugano Convention itself. In particular, Article 5(3) Lugano Convention foresees that in delictual matters the court of the place where the harmful event occurred or may occur is competent. This entails both the place were the harmful conduct was put in motion and the place where the harm was felt. In the present case, the Appeal Court argues that it is “difficult to contest that by hindering the appellant to execute their partnership agreement and enter in future TPO or TPI agreements over specific players, the attacked ban is producing harmful effects on the Belgian territory”.[2] Furthermore, the TPO agreement between Doyen Sports and the ASBL RFC Seraing is not deemed fictitious, as it has been invoked by FIFA to hand out disciplinary sanctions to the ASBL RFC Seraing.[3]

Additionally, the Court derives also its competence from Article 6(1) Lugano Convention. This article provides that a party can be sued “where he is one of a number of defendants, in the courts for the place where any one of them is domiciled, provided the claims are so closely connected that it is expedient to hear and determine them together to avoid the risk of irreconcilable judgments resulting from separate proceedings”. The key question is whether there is sufficient connectedness between the claims raised against l’URBSFA, FIFA and UEFA. The Court refers to the recent case law of the CJEU, which is relevant to the interpretation of the Lugano Convention, on the identical provision in the Brussels Regulation (notably the case C-352/13 at para. 20). It is of the view that “FIFA and URBSFA share a regulatory and disciplinary power that enables them both, acting jointly or separately, to adopt the contested ban, to enforce it and to adopt an individual decision susceptible to block, compromise and/or restrict the execution of the contract signed by the appellants”.[4] Thus, “the autonomous regulatory power of the URBSFA justifies its participation in this proceeding, alongside FIFA in order (i) to obtain that both be prevented to act; (ii) that each of them be deprived of the opportunity to contest the opposability of a decision to which they would not have been part and lastly (iii) to deny FIFA the possibility to circumvent an interdiction pronounced against it by having recourse to the regulatory power of the URBSFA”.[5] Finally, the Court argues “if the appellant were forced to lodge a claim against FIFA in front of the Swiss courts and against URBSFA in front of the Belgian Courts, this could potentially lead to irreconcilable solutions”.[6] As far as the claims against UEFA are concerned, which has not contrary to FIFA explicitly banned TPO, the Appeal Court is also convinced of their connectedness. It is so because UEFA “imposes to the clubs needing a license to participate in its competitions that they comply with the statutes and regulations of FIFA and, thus, with the disputed TPO ban “.[7]

This is again a powerful reminder that Sports Governing Bodies (SGBs) seated in Switzerland cannot evade the jurisdiction of the national courts of EU Member States when EU competition law is involved.[8] Under Article 5(3) Lugano Convention, EU Member States courts will be competent to deal with a civil liability claim based on EU competition law if the damage caused by the disputed measure/decision/regulation can be felt on the national territory of a Member State. Furthermore, if, as is usually the case for sports regulations, the rules have to be implemented by national sporting associations, the claims raised against the national SGBs will most likely be deemed connected to the original decisions/regulations of the international SGBs and justify the jurisdiction of the court of the domicile of the national SGB.[9]

II.    The admissibility of Doyen’s action

In this proceeding, as well as in the one initiated in front of the Paris court (FIFA’s legal submission in the Paris procedure has been published by football leaks), FIFA argues that Doyen’s action is not admissible due to the fact that the wrong administrator has initiated it. Indeed, under article 11.1 of Doyen’s own statutes the judicial representation is to be exercised by the local administrator designated by shareholder A acting in conjunction with the local administrator designated by shareholder B or by any other person designated by the general assembly. Yet, in practice Nelio Lucas, who fulfils none of the relevant criteria and was thus not authorized to act in Doyen’s name in judicial matters, lodged the action. However, Doyen could have under Belgium procedural rules ratified the judicial initiative taken by an incompetent organ. Doyen tried to do so but failed to organize the general assembly necessary to ratify Nelio Luca’s decision. Thus, the Court deems the action initiated by Doyen inadmissible. Luckily for Doyen it was not the sole party to the proceedings as the ASBL RFC Seraing joined the procedure. The Court believes the intervention of RFC Seraing in the proceedings is admissible and its interest to act is acknowledged. On this latter point, FIFA was arguing that RFC Seraing’s interest to act was inexistent due to the fact that the partnership agreement between Doyen and Seraing was contrary to the public order. However, in light of the divergent positions regarding the legality of TPO/TPI and of the on-going proceedings before various national courts and the European commission, the Belgium court is reluctant to admit that the interest of Seraing to act in this matter is illegitimate.

III.  Doyen’s (un)likelihood to prevail

Concerning the likelihood to prevail, however, the Court sided with the federations and refused to admit that the TPO/TPI ban was likely to restrict article 101(1) TFEU. On the one hand, as indices of the compatibility of the ban with EU law, it pointed out that the Commission was inclined to support the TPO ban, that FIFPro was clearly opposed to TPO and invokes fundamental values in support of the ban, and that the ban was adopted after a collective reflection involving many stakeholders and is aimed at tackling the negative externalities listed by the first instance court.[12] On the other hand, it refers to an academic article authored by Marmayou contesting the compatibility of TPO with EU law (this reference appears poorly chosen as the article is dedicated primarily to the FIFA regulations for intermediaries, for a stronger challenge to the compatibility of the TPO ban with EU law see Lindholm).[13] In any case, “it is obvious that a preliminary assessment cannot lead the Court to conclude, with sufficient certainty, that the ban would be contrary to EU competition rules”.[14] Finally, and this is the part of the ruling that seems to have been slightly misinterpreted by the press. The Court pointed out that Seraing and Doyen were asking in the main proceedings for a preliminary reference to the CJEU and that they were, therefore, conscious that they are not certain to prevail. However, the Appeal Court cannot, in the framework of a procedure involving provisory measures, ask a question to the CJEU, as it is unable to comply with the CJEU’s requirements for the admissibility of preliminary references (see the failed attempt in the UEFA FFP case). Hence, it is for the Commercial Court of Brussels, which is competent in the main proceeding, to decide whether it is necessary to do so. The Appeal Court (and the claimants as it cheekily points out) seems to believe that it could be needed, as it is not at all clear that the ban is contrary to EU competition law.

Conclusion

There are number of lessons that can be drawn from the judgment of the appeal court. Three stand out:

1. FIFA and UEFA cannot evade the jurisdiction of EU courts. Indeed, if an EU competition law violation of their rules is invoked they can be brought before the jurisdictions of the Member States
2. Doyen messed up in its original court filing by failing to abide by the procedure enshrined in its own statutes. This has no dire consequences in the Belgium proceedings due to presence of Seraing, but it might be a different story before the Paris court, where Doyen stands alone and the same procedural irregularity is invoked by FIFA.
3. To FIFA’s great satisfaction, the case against the TPO ban is not deemed strong enough to allow for the adoption of provisory measures blocking its implementation. As pointed out in our previous blog (and here) EU competition law is not a golden bullet that can be invoked easily to strike down FIFA or UEFA regulations. There is a high justificatory burden and the claimants will face an uphill battle to demonstrate that the ban is disproportionate (especially in light of the broad support for the ban amongst many key stakeholders).

This was only a small skirmish in a long legal war still before us. It will not be definitely over until the CJEU decides the matter (in 2018 at the earliest) or Doyen bows out of the game in the face of the high legal fees incurred. What is already certain is that the way EU law applies to sport is not straightforward and does not entail an economic/neoliberal logic blindly favourable to an unrestricted freedom to invest.

[1] Cour d’appel Bruxelles, Doyen Sports et ASBL RFC Seraing United c. URBSFA, FIFA et UEFA, 2015/KR/54, 10 mars 2016.

[2] “Il est difficilement contestable qu’en empêchant les appelantes de poursuivre l’exécution de leur convention de collaboration et la conclusion de nouvelles conventions « TPO » ou « TPI » spécifiques à des joueurs, l’interdiction litigieuse produit des effets dommageables sur le territoire belge.” Ibid, para.50.

[3] “C’est également en vain qu’il est soutenu que la convention de collaboration litigieuse ne serait qu’un artifice destiné à saisir les juridictions belges. En effet, elle a connu une exécution par des payements de sommes de Doyen Sports à l’ASBL RFC Seraing et surtout, son existence a été invoquée par la FIFA pour mener des poursuites disciplinaires contre le club dirigé par l’ASBL RFC Seraing et lui infliger une sanction.” Ibid.

[4] “L’URBSFA et la FIFA se partagent donc un pouvoir réglementaire et de contrainte qui leur permet, à l’une et à l’autre, agissant ensemble ou séparément, d’adopter l’interdiction litigieuse, de la mettre en œuvre et de prendre une mesure ou une décision à caractère individuel de nature à empêcher, compromettre et/ou entraver l’exécution du contrat conclu entre les appelantes.” Ibid, para.57

[5] “Le pouvoir règlementaire autonome de l’URBSFA et son pouvoir d’action propre justifient sa présence dans la procédure, en même temps que la FIFA afin (i) d’obtenir l’empêchement d’agir de l’une et de l’autre ; (ii) de priver chacune d’elles de la possibilité de contester l’opposabilité d’une décision judiciaire qui serait rendue dans une cause à laquelle elle serait demeurée étrangère et enfin (iii) d’empêcher la FIFA de contourner une interdiction qui serait prononcée à son encontre en recourant au pouvoir réglementaire de l’URBSFA.” Ibid.

[6] “Si les appelantes étaient dans l’obligation d’attraire la FIFA devant les juridictions suisses tout en citant l’URBSFA devant les juridictions belges, cette situation serait susceptible de conduire à des solutions inconciliables […]”, ibid. para.58.

[7] “En ce qui concerne l’UEFA, la connexité existe également. En effet, si elle n’est pas l’auteur des dispositions réglementaires et si elle n’est pas intervenue comme soutien dans l’exercice de poursuites disciplinaires menées contre le RFC SERAING, elle impose aux clubs qui doivent obtenir une licence pour participer aux compétitions qu’elle organise, de se plier aux statuts et aux règlements de la FIFA et à l’interdiction en cause.” Ibid., para.59.

[8] The same solution was adopted in 2012 by the French Cour de Cassation (Highest French Civil Court) in a dispute opposing the French agent Piau to FIFA. See Cour de cassation, civile, Chambre civile 1, 1 février 2012, publié au bulletin.

[9] This solution was also adopted by the OLG in the Pechstein ruling, see Oberlandesgericht München, 15 January 2015, Az. U 1110/14 Kart, para.A.I.1.a)aa) and bb).

[10] « L’urgence est établie. L’ASBL RFC Seraing est sous le coup d’une sanction disciplinaire dont seule l’exécution a été suspendue et elle est susceptible d’encourir de nouvelles poursuites et sanctions pour le cas où elle conclurait de nouvelles conventions TPO/TPI avec Doyen Sports ou toute autre société menant des activités de financement similaires.” Cour d’appel Bruxelles, Doyen Sports et ASBL RFC Seraing United c. URBSFA, FIFA et UEFA, 2015/KR/54, 10 mars 2016, para.78.

[11] « Ensuite, il n’est pas douteux que l’interdiction de poursuivre la convention de collaboration du 30 janvier 2015 et de conclure de nouvelles conventions TPO/TPI la prive d’une source de financement, sans qu’il soit démontré par les intimées qu’elle pourrait lui trouver un substitut adéquat par des emprunts classiques auprès de tiers.”Ibid.

[12] « D’un côté, il faut constater que :
- la Commission paraît s’être orientée vers la condamnation de la TPO;
- la FIPpro y est clairement opposée et invoque à cette fin des valeurs essentielles;
- l’interdiction est le résultat d’une réflexion collective à laquelle ont participé de nombreux interlocuteurs - et non pas seulement l’UEFA ou certains de ses membres - et elle est l’aboutissement de plusieurs constats que relève le premier juge dans son ordonnance : opacité, absence de contrôle des instances dirigeantes, importance du phénomène puisqu’il concerne le marché mondial, environnement ouvert à la corruption et aux pratiques frauduleuses, importance des sommes en jeu, etc...” Ibid, para.81.

[13] « De l’autre, de sérieuses réserves sont émises à propos de la légalité de l’interdiction de la TPO/TPI (voir ainsi l’article de J.M. MARMAYOU, « La compatibilité du nouveau règlement FIFA sur les intermédiaires avec le droit européen » Les cahiers de droit du sport, 2015, p. 15, pièce 38bis des appelantes).” Ibid.

[14] « Il est patent qu’un examen en apparence ne permet pas de conclure, avec la force nécessaire, que l’interdiction porte atteinte aux règles de la concurrence.” Ibid, para.82.

The Headlines

CAS Decision on Manchester City FC Case

After the UEFA’s Adjudicatory Chamber of the Club Financial Control’s (CFCB) decision earlier this year to ban Manchester City FC for two seasons, observers waited impatiently to see the outcome of this high profile dispute. The CFCB’s decision had found that Manchester City FC overstated sponsorship revenues and in its break-even information given to UEFA. While some feared this showdown could lead to the demise of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, the now publicized CAS panel’s decision is more nuanced. The panel’s decision turned on (see analysis here and here) (a) whether the ‘Leaked Emails’ were authentic and could be admissible evidence, (b) whether the ‘CFCB breached its obligations of due process’, (c) whether the conclusions of the 2014 Settlement Agreement prevents the CFCB from charging Manchester City FC, (d) whether the charges are time-barred, (e) the applicable standard of proof, (f) whether Manchester City FC masked equity funding as sponsorship contributions, and (g) whether Manchester City FC failed to cooperate with CFCB. In the end, among other findings, the Panel held that some of the alleged breaches were time-barred but maintained that Manchester City FC had failed to cooperate with CFCB’s investigation. In light of this, the Panel significantly reduced the sanction placed on Manchester City FC by removing the two-season suspension and reducing the sanction from 30 million euros to 10 million euros.

Qatar Labour Law Reforms Effectively Abolishes the Kafala System

Just a few days after Human Rights Watch released a lengthy report on abusive practices suffered by migrant workers in Qatar, Qatar adopted a series of laws that effectively gets rid of the Kafala system by no longer requiring migrant workers to obtain a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from their employer in order to start another job. The International Labour Organization declared that this development along with the elimination of the ‘exit permit requirements’ from earlier this year means that the kafala system has been effectively abolished. In addition to these changes, Qatar has also adopted a minimum wage that covers all workers and requires that employers who do not provide food or housing at least give a minimum allowance for both of these living costs. Lastly, the new laws better define the procedure for the termination of employment contracts.

In reaction to these changes, Amnesty International welcomed the reforms and called for them to be ‘swiftly and properly implemented’. Indeed, while these amendments to Qatar’s labour laws are a step in the right direction, Amnesty International also cautions that the minimum wage may still be too low, and in order to be effective, these new laws will have to be followed with ‘strong inspection and complaint mechanisms’.

CAS Decision Concerning Keramuddin Karim Abuse Case

In June of last year, Keramuddin Karim, former president of Afghanistan’s soccer federation, was banned by FIFA for life (see the decision of the adjudicatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee) after reports of sexual and physical abuse that emerged in late 2018. Following a lengthy and tumultuous investigation in Afghanistan, Afghan officials came forward with an arrest warrant for Mr. Karim. Nevertheless, despite attempts to apprehend Mr. Karim, Mr. Karim has still avoided arrest over a year later. Most recently in August, Afghan Special Operation officers attempted to apprehend him but he was not at the residence when they arrived.

Meanwhile, Mr. Karim had appealed FIFA’s lifetime ban to the CAS and the CAS Panel’s decision has recently been released. In its decision, the Panel upheld both the lifetime ban and the 1,000,000 CHF fine, finding that due to the particular egregious nature of Karim’s acts, ‘they warrant the most severe sanction possible available under the FCE’. Since both Karim and his witnesses were unable to be heard, the case raises questions connected to the respect of fundamental procedural rights at the CAS. 

Major International Sports Law Decisions

• CAS - CAS 2020/A/6785 Machester City FC v. UEFA
• CAS – CAS 2019/A/6388 Karim Keramuddin v. FIFA
• CAS - CAS 2018/A/6075 Igor Labuts v. Football Association of Ireland
• CAS - CAS 2018/A/5725 Santos Futebol Clube v. FC Barcelona, Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, Neymar da Silva Santos, Neymar Sport e Marketing s/s Limitada and FIFA & CAS 2018/A/5726 Neymar da Silva Santos Junior v. Santos Futebol Clube & FIFA
• CAS - CAS 2018/O/5830 International Surfing Association v. International Canoe Federation

Official Documents and Press Releases

CAS

• CAS – CAS Bulletin 2020/01
• CAS - CAS issues its decision in the appeal filed by Trabzonspor A.S. against UEFA
• CAS - CAS confirms the life ban imposed on Keramuddin Karim
• CAS - Decision in the arbitration procedure between Manchester City FC & UEFA
• CAS - CAS annuls the seven-point deduction imposed on PAOK FC and refers the matter back to the Hellenic Football Federation Appeals Committee for adjudication
• CAS - Amendments to the Rules of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS): Spanish becomes the 3rd official language for CAS arbitrations
• CAS - CAS arbitration Manchester City FC v. UEFA: the hearing has concluded / decision to be issued in July
• CAS - CAS registers the appeals filed by Andrea Iannone and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the FIM International Disciplinary Court decision of 31 March 2020
• CAS – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Decides that the International Surfing Association shall be the International Federation Governing and Administrating the Sport of Stand-Up Paddleboard at Olympic Level
• CAS - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Finds Ibai Salas Zorrozua Guilty of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation; Imposes Four-Year Period of Ineligibility
• CAS - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Dismisses the Appeal Filed by the UAE Football Association

FIFA

• FIFA – FIFA Statement
• FIFA - Bureau of the FIFA Council approves FIFA COVID-19 Relief Plan regulations
• FIFA – Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players – June 2020 Edition
• FIFA – FIFA greatly welcomes Brazilian court’s decision rejecting Spuni lawsuit
• FIFA - FIFA welcomes CAS decision in the case of former president of Afghan Football Federation Keramuudin Karim
• FIFA - Five-substitute option extended into 2021 in response to COVID-19 pandemic
• FIFA - Relive the Football Law Annual Review 2019 conference
• FIFA - Adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee sanctions Markus Kattner
• FIFA – Decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee – Arsenal Football Club
• FIFA - Decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee – Markus Kattner
• FIFA - FIFA acknowledges WTO panel report
• FIFA - FIFA provides further guidance on COVID-19 football regulatory issues
• FIFA - Further changes to the international match calendars due to the COVID-19 pandemic unanimously approved by the Bureau of the Council
• FIFA - Statement from the chairperson of the investigatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee
• FIFA - Independent Ethics Committee extends provisional ban on Yves Jean-Bart and sanctions other Haitian football officials
• FIFA - Bureau of the FIFA Council temporarily adapts rules on release of players for September 2020 window due to COVID-19
• FIFA - FIFA publishes first reports for Disciplinary & Ethics Committees and on anti-doping activities
• FIFA - Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players – August 2020 Edition
• FIFA - FIFA insists Trinidad and Tobago dispute has to be resolved at CAS
• FIFA - FIFA publishes first reports for Disciplinary & Ethics Committees and on anti-doping activities

IOC

• IOC – International Olympic Committee Publishes 2019 Annual Report and Financial Statements
• IOC - Candidatures for IOC Vice Presidency And Executive Board
• IOC - UN General Assembly Confirms New Dates for the Observation Period of the Olympic Truce
• IOC – IOC Executive Board makes Decisions with Regard to International Weightlifting Federation

UEFA

• UEFA - UEFA statement on CAS Manchester City decision
• UEFA - Temporary emergency measures for Financial Fair Play
• UEFA - FFP update on the 2019/20 monitoring of clubs by the CFCB

WADA

• WADA – Strategic Plan 2015-2019
• WADA - WADA publishes its Five-Year Strategic Plan under the theme ‘Leading Anti-Doping in a New Era’
• WADA - WADA responds in detail to ONDCP Report regarding Agency’s funding
• WADA - WADA publishes final designed version of Athletes’ Anti-Doping Rights Act
• WADA - WADA publishes final versions of 2021 World Anti-Doping Code and International Standards in English and French
• WADA - WADA update on its follow-up of McLaren investigation into the International Weightlifting Federation
• WADA - WADA delays call for proposals for 2021 Social Science Research Grant Program to October
• WADA - WADA statement on investigation into the International Weightlifting Federation
• WADA - WADA suspends accreditation of New Delhi Laboratory for another period of up to six months
• WADA - WADA Compliance Review Committee update
• WADA - WADA statement on the dismissal of RUSADA’s Director General

• Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) - Third Review Of International Federation Governance
• Athleten Deutschland - Mehr Teilhabe bei der Planung der Olympischen Spiele in Tokio 2021
• Athleten Deutschland - Stellungnahme zur Überprüfung von Regel 50 der Olympischen Charta
• Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) - FEI Tribunal issues Final Decision in human anti-doping case
• Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) - CAS rules on appeal against horse abuse sanctions
• Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) – Court of Arbitration for Sport issues Decision on equine anti-doping appeal
• Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) – FEI Tribunal hands down record sanction in horse abuse case
• Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) - FEI Tribunal dismisses athlete appeals on Villeneuve-Loubet decision
• Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) - FIG makes significant progress towards the highest standards of good governance
• Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) - Antidoping - A Brazilian athlete sanctioned
• FIBA – FIBA Executive Committee condemns all forms of racism in open letter from President
• FINA - FINA allocates US$ 6.4 million in a COVID-19 support plan
• International Biathlon Union - The IBU joins UN climate action initiative for sports
• International Fencing Federation (FIE) - FIE Announces 2020 Global support Plan for World Fencing Family
• International Judo Federation - The Judo Family Stands up Against Racism
• International Paralympic Committee - IPC Anti-Doping Code revised
• International Shooting Sport Federation - The ISSF significantly improves its position on Governance
• International Tennis Federation – ITF Announces Further Measures to Support Stakeholders
• International Tennis Federation – ITF Welcomes Publication of ASOIF Governance Review
• International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) – ITTF united against racism and all forms of discrimination
• International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) - ITTF delivers on promise to improve its Governance
• International Weightlifting Federation - McLaren Findings And IOC Support Driving Reform Process At International Weightlifting Federation
• SportIreland - Anti-Doping Rule Violation - Issued on behalf of Swim Ireland and Sport Ireland
• Tennis Integrity Unit – Tunisian Tennis Player Majed Kilani Banned For Seven Years And Fined $7,000 After Conviction On Match-Fixing And Associated Corruption Charges
• UCI - The UCI strengthens the health protocol for procedures to be followed with the reopening of the 2020 season of road cycling competitions
• UCI - The UCI publishes its 2019 Annual Report
• UCI - ASOIF ranks the UCI among top International Federations for its good governance
• UCI - Decision of the UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal regarding Kanstantsin Siutsou
• World Archery – World Archery Improves in International Federation Good Governance Report
• World Athletics – World Athletics Council resolves to expel RusAF if payments not received by 15 August
• World Athletics - Statement on Russian Federation
• World Athletics - ASOIF governance review recognises significant progress in World Athletics reform agenda
• World Para Powerlifting - Para powerlifter Johannes Hernandez given 15-month ban
• World Rowing - ASOIF Governance review highlights key accomplishments for FISA
• World Rugby - Rugby unified in solidarity against racism
• World Sailing – Third Review of IF Governance reveals significant progress, challenges remain
•  World Sailing - World Sailing confirms International Olympic Committee financial support
• World Taekwondo – World Taekwondo improves position in ASOIF’s IF Governance Review

International/national Organizations

• Belgische Mededingingsautoriteit - Het Mededingingscollege heeft geweigerd voorlopige maatregelen op te leggen zoals gevraagd door Royal Excelsior Virton
• International Labour Organization - Dismantling the kafala system and introducing a minimum wage mark new era for Qatar labour market 

Civil Society Organizations/Unions

• Amnesty International UK  - Qatar: 100 World Cup stadium workers not paid for up to seven months
• Centre for Sport and Human Rights – 2019 Sporting Chance Forum – Meeting Report
• EU Athletes - Covid-19 impact on players and their player associations
• FIFPro – Playing Our Part: Footballers During the Covid-19 Pandemic
• FIFPro - Afghanistan Women's National Team Sexual Abuse: Statement
• FIFPro – FIFPro and ECA Develop Guidelines on Player Health Protection
• Global Athlete – Athlete Groups Call On World Anti-Doping Agency To Implement Stronger Reforms
• Global Athlete – Global Athlete Statement On Olympic Charter Rule 50
• Global Athlete – Sport, Politics, Protest … And The Olympics
• Global Athlete – Global Athlete Calls On The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) To Implement Independent Athlete Oversight As A Result Of The McLaren Independent Investigation
• Global Athlete – Athlete Groups Cal on World Anti-Doping Agency to Implement Stronger Reforms
• Human Rights Watch - “I Was Hit So Many Times I Can’t Count”: Abuse of Child Athletes in Japan
• Rapid Transition Alliance - Report: Playing Against The Clock: Global sport, the climate emergency and the case for rapid change
• UNI Global Union - Sport & Rights Alliance: IOC Should Uphold Human Rights

In the News

Football

• David Conn - Manchester City decision does not mean end of financial fair play
• David Conn - Der Spiegel claims new Manchester City emails cast doubt on Cas verdict
• Tariq Panja - Secret Contracts Held a Surprise for Fiorentina’s New Owners
• Graham Dunbar - Swiss attorney general offers to resign in FIFA case fallout
• Graham Dunbar - FIFA bans former finance director Kattner for 10 years
• Graham Dunbar - FIFA has 13 ongoing investigations, plus 62 other cases
• Graham Dunbar - Banned for life by FIFA, soccer officials line up to appeal
• Graham Dunbar - Fresh Swiss investigation targets ex-FIFA president Blatter
• Graham Dunbar - IOC to open talks about easing protest ban at Olympics
• Graham Dunbar - Slovak club fights UEFA at CAS over Champions League forfeit
• Sean Ingle - Saudi TV piracy ruling puts Newcastle takeover under renewed scrutiny
• John Leicester - Former IAAF president turns on son at corruption trial
• Matt Slater and Sam Lee - Man City v UEFA: The full 93-page CAS judgment explained
• Guillem Balague - Lionel Messi hands in Barcelona transfer request
• Associated Press - Platini quizzed in Swiss investigation of $2M FIFA payment

Doping

• Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber - Russian anti-doping chief rejects social media corruption allegation
• James Ellingworth - Investigation finds doping cover-ups in weightlifting
• Andy Brown - RusAF Restoration Commission meeting postponed

Other

• Dave Zirin and Jules Boykoff – Athletes Are Fighting the Olympic Ban on Protests
• Jules Boykoff and Dave Zirin - Op-Ed: Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics are showing the nightmare waiting for L.A. in 2028
• Dave Zirin and Jules Boykoff - Racist IOC President Avery Brundage Loses His Place of Honor
• Dave Zirin and Jules Boykoff - Should the World Boycott the 2022 Beijing Olympics?
• Philip Barker - CANOC President calls for IOC to rescind life bans issued to athletes 48 years after podium protests
• Bill Donahue - The Price of Gold
• Peter Olusoga and David Olusoga - From Muhammad Ali to Colin Kaepernick, the proud history of black protest in sport
• Neil Shefferd - Athletes Germany welcomes plan to review Rule 50 of Olympic Charter
• Liam Morgan - IOA vice-president slams IOC and FIH for refusing to take action against Batra
• Clément Guillou - Le Tribunal arbitral du sport, arbitre controversé
• Clément Guillou - Au Tribunal arbitral du sport, un petit nombre d’arbitres trustent les nominations
• Ben Bloom - Athletes taking a knee at Tokyo 2021 Olympics and Paralympics face bans
• Michael Pavitt - IOC "fully respects" athlete statements as USOPC pledges to hold forum amid protests
• Michael Pavitt - World Uyghur Congress lodges complaint to IOC over Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
• David Wharton - L.A. Olympic officials ask IOC to allow athlete protests
• Gillian R. Brassil and Jeré Longman - Who Should Compete in Women’s Sports? There Are ‘Two Almost Irreconcilable Positions’
• Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Fahim Abed - Afghan Soccer Official, Charged With Sexual Abuse, Evades Arrest
• Marc Stein - Led by N.B.A., Boycotts Disrupt Pro Sports in Wake of Blake Shooting

Academic Materials

International Sports Law Journal

• Borja Garcia-Garcia, Mark James, Dionne Koller, Johan Lindholm, Despina Mavromati, Richard Parrish and Ryan Rodenberg - The impact of Covid-19 on sports: a mid-way assessment
• Jan Exner - Fixed sanction frameworks in the World Anti-Doping Codes 2015 and 2021: Can hearing panels go below the limits in the pursuit of proportionate punishments?
• Artur Flamínio da Silva and Daniela Mirante - Mandatory arbitration as a possible future for sports arbitration: the Portuguese example
• Jan Łukomski - On the finalisation of international football transfers and professional football players’ contracts
• Björn Hessert - Cooperation and reporting obligations in sports investigations
• Jacob Kornbeck - What can sports governing bodies do to comply with EU antitrust rules while maintaining territorial exclusivity?
• Cedrick Aghey - Integration of eSports in the structure of Ifs: disruption or continuity?
• Shaun Star and Sarah Kelly - A level playing field in anti-doping disputes? The need to scrutinize procedural fairness at first instance hearings

Tilburg Law Review

• Antoine Duval and Daniela Heerdt - FIFA and Human Rights – a Research Agenda
• Wojciech Lewandowski - The Implications of the Recent Jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union for the Protection of the Fundamental Rights of Athletes and the Regulatory Autonomy of Sporting Federations
• Bodo P. Bützler and Lisa Schöddert - Constitutionalizing FIFA: Promises and Challenges
• Raquel Regueiro - Shared Responsibility and Human Rights Abuse: The 2022 World Cup in Qatar
• Michele Krech - Towards Equal Rights in the Global Game? FIFA's Strategy for Women’s Football as a Tightly Bounded Institutional Innovation

Other

• Dikaia Chatziefstathiou, Borja García and Benoit Séguin (eds) - Routledge Handbook of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
• Johan Lindholm and Richard Parrish - Horizontal direct effect of Union citizenship and the evolving sporting exception: TopFit

Blog

Asser International Sports Law Blog

• Marjolaine Viret - Anti-Doping in Times of COVID-19: A Difficult Balancing Exercise for WADA

Law in Sport

• Benoît Keane and Ben Foster – Sport and competition law – the year in review 2019/20
• David Menz and Maximilian Wegge - Political protest in football – is it time for a (legal) debate? Analysing FIFA’s regulations and recent actions in the Bundesliga
• John Mehrzad QC and Joseph Bryan - Can sports clubs compel players to return to play and waive health and safety liability?
• Jack Anderson - Sports governance - the year in review 2019/20
• Lindsay S. Brandon and Howard Jacobs - Lawson v. IAAF: a view from the perspective of athletes' counsel
• Michiel Fierens and Jan De Bruyne - Artificial intelligence in sports – the legal and ethical issues at play

Play the Game

• Mary Hums, Eli A Wolff and Nina Siegfried - Making a case for athlete advocacy: Humanitarians, Olympism and good governance
• Jens Sejer Andersen - The man who blew the whistle on his own corruption
• Faraz Shahlaei – Athletes’ gestures are protected by international human rights law
• Nikki Dryden - Athletes should not be gagged in exchange for Olympic dream

Sport and EU Blog

• Joanna Harper - Right to compete: Transgender women
• Dhananjay Dhonchak - Football Player Contracts in times of Covid-19
• Maximilian Seltmann - Covid-19: Amplifying the Voice of Athletes

Sport Integrity Initiative

• Andy Brown - RUSADA completes analysis of ROC & RPC audit
• Andy Brown - FIDAL doctors & official acquitted of responsibility in Schwazer case
• Andy Brown - Leading Russian athletes consider changing citizenship
• Andy Brown - ‘Whereabouts’ & ‘Tampering’ charges snare another athlete
• Andy Brown - US may withhold WADA funding due to failure to reform
• Andy Brown - CAS annuls FAI’s ban on Latvian player for match-fixing
• Andy Brown - Peruvian swimmer sanctioned with eight year ban for second offence
• Kuo Zhao - Are you allowed to be heard? How the Sun Yang case reveals the systematic prejudice against athletes in sport arbitration

SportLegis

• Despina Mavromati - A. v. IFAF, USA Football, Football Canada et al. – Election dispute – Ultra Petita
• Despina Mavromati - Appeal against the CAS award of June 8, 2018 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS 2017/A/5301 and CAS 2017/A/5302)
• Despina Mavromati - Judgment 4A_662/2018 of May 14, 2019 FC A. v. FC B. Request for revision of the CAS Award 2015/O/4502

Other

• Andrew Boyce - Aggrieved football clubs turn to EU antitrust law after Covid-19 stops play
• Nii Anteson – Reconsidering Rule 50
• Richard Martin and Ihar Nekrashevich - Covid-19 And Anti-Doping Testing: Is Virtual Testing the Answer and the Future?
• Andrea Cattaneo - Financing sport after Brexit: challenges lie ahead
• Human Rights Defender – Special Issue: The Human Rights of Athletes

Podcasts

• International Network of Doping Research – Interview with Howard Jacobs
• BBC - Is the party over for the Olympics?
• LawInSport - Brent Nowicki, Head of the CAS Anti-Doping Division - E92
• LawInSport - How sports diplomacy can help the sport sector respond to COVID19 crisis - Dr J Simon Rofe E91

Upcoming Events

• 17-18 September 2020 - Understand The Rules Of The Game 2020 - LawInSport Annual Conference
• 24 September 2020– Women In Sports Law 4^th Annual Online Conference
• 17-18 June 2021 – Sport & EU 2020 Annual Conference, Rijeka and Opatija, Croatia