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

#Save(d)Hakeem

The plight of Hakeem al-Araibi – the 25-year-old refugee footballer who was arrested last November in Bangkok upon his arrival from Australia on the basis of a red notice issued by Interpol in contravention of its own policies which afford protection to refugees and asylum-seekers – continued throughout the month of January. Bahrain – the country Hakeem al-Araibi fled in 2014 due to a (well-founded) fear of persecution stemming from his previous experience when he was imprisoned and tortured as part of the crackdown on pro-democracy athletes who had protested against the royal family during the Arab spring – maintained a firm stance, demanding that Hakeem be extradited to serve a prison sentence over a conviction for vandalism charges, which was allegedly based on coerced confessions and ignored evidence.

While international sports governing bodies were critised from the very beginning for not using enough leverage with the governments of Bahrain and Thailand to ensure that Hakeem’s human rights are protected, they have gradually added their voice to the intense campaign for Hakeem’s release led by civil society groups. FIFA, for example, has sent a letter directly to the Prime Minister of Thailand, urging the Thai authorities ‘to take the necessary steps to ensure that Mr al-Araibi is allowed to return safely to Australia at the earliest possible moment, in accordance with the relevant international standards’. Yet many activists have found this action insufficient and called for sporting sanctions to be imposed on the national football associations of Bahrain and Thailand.      

When it looked like Hakeem will continue to be detained in Thailand at least until April this year, the news broke that the Thai authorities agreed to release Hakeem due to the fact that for now the Bahraini government had given up on the idea of bringing Hakeem ‘home’ – a moment that was praised as historic for the sport and human rights movement.

Russia avoids further sanctions from WADA despite missing the deadline for handing over doping data from the Moscow laboratory 

WADA has been back in turmoil ever since the new year began as the Russian authorities failed to provide it with access to crucial doping data from the former Moscow laboratory within the required deadline which expired on 31 December 2018, insisting that the equipment WADA intended to use for the data extraction was not certified under Russian law. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency thus failed to meet one of the two conditions under which its three-year suspension was controversially lifted in September 2018. The missed deadline sparked outrage among many athletes and national anti-doping organisations, who blamed WADA for not applying enough muscle against the Russian authorities.

Following the expiry of the respective deadline, it appeared that further sanctions could be imposed on the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, but such an option was on the table only until WADA finally managed to access the Moscow laboratory and retrieve the doping data on 17 January 2019. Shortly thereafter, WADA President Sir Craig Reedie hailed the progress as a major breakthrough for clean sport and members of the WADA Executive Committee agreed that no further sanctions were needed despite the missed deadline. However, doubts remain as to whether the data have not been manipulated. Before WADA delivers on its promise and builds strong cases against the athletes who doped – to be handled by international sports federations – it first needs to do its homework and verify whether the retrieved data are indeed genuine.  

British track cyclist Jessica Varnish not an employee according to UK employment tribunal

On 16 January 2019, an employment tribunal in Manchester rendered a judgment with wider implications for athletes and sports governing bodies in the United Kingdom, ruling that the female track cyclist Jessica Varnish was neither an employee nor a worker of the national governing body British Cycling and the funding agency UK Sport. The 28-year-old multiple medal winner from the world and European championships takes part in professional sport as an independent contractor but sought to establish before the tribunal that she was in fact an employee of the two organisations. This would enable her to sue either organisation for unfair dismissal as she was dropped from the British cycling squad for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and her funding agreement was not renewed, allegedly in response to her critical remarks about some of the previous coaching decisions.

The tribunal eventually dismissed her challenge, concluding that ‘she was not personally performing work provided by the respondent – rather she was personally performing a commitment to train in accordance with the individual rider agreement in the hope of achieving success at international competitions’. Despite the outcome of the dispute, Jessica Varnish has insisted that her legal challenge contributed to a positive change in the structure, policies and personnel of British Cycling and UK Sport, while both organisations have communicated they had already taken action to strengthen the duty of care and welfare provided to athletes.  

Sports Law Related Decisions

•  Employment Tribunal – Reserved judgment in the case involving Jess Varnish

Official Documents and Press Releases

• CAS – Bulletin 2018/02
• CAS – Code of sports-related arbitration (effective from 1 January 2019)
• FIFA – Statement on Hakeem al-Araibi
• FIFA – Letter to the Thai authorities concerning Hakeem al-Araibi
• FIFA – FIFA Appeal Committee partially upholds appeal lodged by Kalusha Bwalya
• FIFA – FIFA, UNESCO and the World Food Programme agree innovative partnership
• FIFA – Global Transfer Market Report 2018 - women
• FIFA – Global Transfer Market Report 2018 - men
• FIFA – Intermediaries in International Transfers 2018
• FIFA – Joint public statement on behalf of FIFA, UEFA, AFC, the Premier League, LaLiga and Bundesliga on beoutQ
• FIFA – Normalisation committee appointed for Namibian FA
• Human Rights Watch – Qatar: Partial reforms risk undermining progress
• IBSF – IBSF sanctions Russian bobsleigh athletes and official for anti-doping rule violation with a period of ineligibility of two years
• IOC – New year’s message 2019
• IOC – IOC disappointed at decision of Swiss Federal Tribunal
• IOC – IOC sanctions one athlete for failing anti-doping tests at London 2012
• IOC – Stockholm-Are and Milan-Cortina submit innovative Games plans for the Olympic Winter Games 2026
• Tennis Integrity Unit – Annual Review 2018
• Tennis Integrity Unit – Cristobal Saavedra-Corvalan suspended and fined for failing to cooperate with TIU corruption investigation
• UEFA – Club Licensing Benchmarking Report Financial Year 2017
• UEFA – UEFA report details European football’s journey to profitability
• WADA – New Year message to stakeholders from WADA President and Director General
• WADA – Reminder: WADA is soliciting feedback on the Anti-Doping Charter of Athlete Rights
• WADA – Update on extraction of Moscow Laboratory data and RUSADA compliance status
• WADA – Statement from the WADA Athlete Committee on Russian compliance situation
• WADA – WADA expert team to return to Moscow
• WADA – WADA successfully retrieves data from Moscow Laboratory
• WADA – WADA Executive Committee endorses CRC recommendation to continue applying conditions of RUSADA compliance
• WADA – WADA Compliance Review Committee update

In the news

Doping

• Associated Press Russian court says bobsledder can keep Olympic titles
• BBC Sport Alexandr Zubkov to keep Olympic titles in Russia despite IOC ruling
• Andy Brown WADA’s Intelligence & Investigations department covering 20% of cases
• Sean Ingle Marathon champion Jemima Sumgong has doping ban doubled to eight years
• Sean Ingle Tribunal to hear claims ex-Team Sky doctor Freeman ordered testosterone
• Sean Ingle WADA accussed of being ‘played’ after Russians miss doping data deadline
• Sean Ingle WADA athletes body adds to pressure for new ban on Russia
• Sean Ingle WADA experts set to return to Russia to investigate doping data after IT row
• Sean Ingle WADA retrieves doping data from Moscow but doubts linger over veracity
• Sean Ingle Russia avoids further WADA sanctions despite missing data deadline

Football

• David Conn Europe’s top-tier football clubs reap benefit of FFP with first overall profit
• David Conn Manchester City refuse to give UEFA any comment on FFP allegations
• David Conn Revealed: The ‘dire consequences’ of football’s relationship with gambling
• Helen Davidson Hakeem al-Araibi: Bahrain says refugee footballer’s life is not in danger
• Helen Davidson Call for FIFA’s Salman al-Khalifa to step down if Hakeem al-Araibi is not freed
• Sean Ingle FIFA urges Thailand to release Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi
• Sean Ingle Real Madrid and Barcelona overtake Manchester United as top earning clubs
• Sean Ingle and Helen Davidson Campaigners say case of Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi now an ‘emergency’
• Tariq Panja FIFA’s boss wants to remake the game. Europe wants no part of it.
• Tariq Panja Politics looms over empty seats as Saudi Arabia faces Qatar in Asian Cup
• Tariq Panja U.A.E. accuses Qatar of fielding ineligible players at Asian Cup
• Tariq Panja When is a hacker whistle-blower? In Football Leaks case, a Hungarian judge will decide
• Tariq Panja and Kevin Draper Cristiano Ronaldo’s DNA sought by Las Vegas police in rape investigation
• Tariq Panja and Hiroko Tabuchi Japan’s Olympic chief faces corruption charges in France

Other

• Stine Alvad FIFA fails to live up to own human rights standards in #SaveHakeen case, critics say
• Philip Blenkinsop Nike’s Dutch tax status investigated by EU regulators
• Sean Ingle Jess Varnish loses employment tribunal case against British Cycling and UK Sport
• Sean Ingle Jess Varnish: I lost, but my stance has exposed a culture of fear
• Sean Ingle ‘Lives have been transformed’ – the entrepreneur who put £10m into grassroots sport
• Sam Jones Police in Spain break up tennis match-fixing ring involving 28 pros
• Braden Keith FINA relaxes rules, won’t ban athletes for competing in non-FINA events
• Malay Mail CAS dismisses Karim’s appeal against IAAF
• Liam Morgan Japanese Olympic Committee President indicted on corruption charges in France
• Jonathan Taylor Response to open letter from Sebastian Samuelsson

Academic Materials

International Sports Law Journal

• Cem Abanazir E-sport and the EU: The View from the English Bridge Union
• Alexander Brown and Roger Baines The Potential Exploitation of Non-English Speaking Players in UK Professional Football Contracts
• James Brown Genetic Doping: WADA We Do About the Future of ‘Cheating’ in Sport?
• John Didulica Changing the Game: The Legal Framework for the Laws of the Game, Management of Human Performance Data and Related Safety Considerations in Women's Professional Sport
• Matteo Maciel and Adam Walton Can Player Economic Value Rights Be Used as Collateral?

Other

• Jan Exner Sporting Nationality in the Context of European Union

Blog

Law in Sport

• Katherine Apps Can you ‘temporarily step down’ from an employment role? A view on Craig Bellamy’s position
• Kevin Carpenter Podcast on career in sports law and sports integrity
• Angela Collins Gender equality in football – how much does FIFA ‘value’ the women’s game?
• Zoe Dudgeon and Elinor Boote A comprehensive guide for sports bodies on tackling discrimination
• Nick Hawkins and Naomi Latham Top tips for football clubs on navigating complex employment negotiations
• Marc Peltier French law brought into line with the World Anti-Doping Code
• Angelo Rigopoulos A guide to UEFA’s good governance reform
• Toni Roca FIFA’s proposed solidarity mechanism reforms – an effective solution or a lost opportunity?
• Brendan Schwab Podcast on the Hakeem al-Araibi case 

Other

• Jack Anderson Sport scandals of 2018
• Nikki Dryden Why Hakeem al-Araibi’s plight is a test of the Olympic movement itself
• Marina Hyde Inconceivable! Russia yet again leaves Sir Craig Reedie looking the fool
• Marina Hyde Saudi Arabia, sportwashing and golf’s daring sortie into enemy coffers
• Marina Hyde The anti-WADA ‘lynch mob’ is not one Vernon Kay and co would recognise
• Sean Ingle Football must go in hard on Bahrain over the Hakeem al-Araibi affair
• Doug MacQuarrie Another point of view from Doug MacQuarrie, Chair of iNADO
• Sportschau The duped cheat
• Minky Worden Hakeem al-Araibi’s case is a true test of FIFA’s new human rights policy

Upcoming Events

• 8 May – FIFA and Human Rights: Impacts, Policies and Responsibilities, T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague, Netherlands
• 22-23 May – Football Law 2019: Player Transfers, Agents, Politics and the Business of Football, London, UK
• 27-28 June – 14^th Sport&EU Annual Conference, Valleta, Malta
• 12-13 September – Understand the Rules of the Game 2019: LawInSport Annual Conference, London, UK
• 24-25 October – Third Annual International Sports Law Conference of the International Sports Law Journal, T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague, Netherlands

Shortly after his election as IOC President, Thomas Bach announced his intention to initiate an introspective reflection and reform cycle dubbed (probably a reference to former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder’s publicly praised Agenda 2010) the Olympic Agenda 2020. The showdown of a year of intense brainstorming is to take place in the beginning of December 2014 during an IOC extraordinary session, in which fundamental reforms are expected.
 

Graph 1: The Olympic Agenda’s Timeline

The aims of the Olympic Agenda: Cheaper, Simpler, “Hotter”
The Olympic Agenda 2020 is aimed at securing the short- and long-term success of the Olympic Games. To this end, six main themes, linked to five “clusters of ideas”, were outlined in the IOC’s internal preparatory document: the bidding procedure, the sustainability of the games, the uniqueness (differentiation) of the Games, the Olympic programme, the Olympic Games management and the Olympic Games audience.

The bidding procedure is currently very much under the spotlights, due to the serial withdrawal of cities from their candidacy for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The Olympic Agenda 2020 is first and foremost an exercise designed to respond to this désamour; a process aimed at enhancing the attractiveness of the Games to organizers as well as consumers. Therefore, the IOC foresees an in depth reform of the bidding, making it cheaper and easier for an interested city to candidate.

Moreover, the IOC advocates sustainable Games. By sustainability it means prioritizing the economic viability of the Games. Only in a subsidiary fashion does it entail a concern for their social impact and environmental footprint. Such sustainable Games would be a radical change compared to the latest Sochi Games, which were both very expensive and very environmentally destructive. On paper, this is a noble objective to pursue, but the lack of concrete proposals advanced so far does not bode well for its implementation.

Finally, the IOC is very much concerned with the “hotness” of the Games or, in other words, their attractiveness to consumers and athletes. Thus, it suggests a number of changes to the Olympic Programme, to the relationship of the IOC with other Sports Governing Bodies, to the management structure in the organization of the Olympic Games and to the way it targets its audience (opening up to new markets geographically and technically). As one can see, the IOC had a specific plan in mind when launching the Olympic Agenda 2020 and it focuses very much on the “hotness” of the Games and its economical “sustainability” rather than on its societal responsibility.

A global consultation: For what?
The Olympic Agenda 2020 boasts its responsiveness and openness to the public, embodied in a broad public consultation concluded on 15 April 2014. Thus, the goals and themes suggested by the IOC were, in theory at least, to be complemented and enriched by the opinions raised by participants to the public consultation. Sadly, the contributions to the consultation have not been made publicly available, yet. Only the contributions published on-line by their authors are freely accessible to public scrutiny, this is a regrettable lack of transparency undermining the essence of such a participative endeavour.

From the contributions publicly available one can draw a picture of the demands posed to the IOC in the framework of the consultation and the expectations of the public in this regard. Human Rights Watch, Swedwatch, the Norwegian Olympic Committee, the Swedish Trade Union, and the Gay Games Federation have all submitted substantial contributions advocating  an enhanced protection of fundamental rights during the Olympics. To this end, they suggest for example to impose minimum labour standards at the Olympic building sites, fundamental rights criteria for selecting the host city and an environmentally sustainable management of the Olympic Games. But, is someone listening?

Working Groups: Behind closed doors
Last week, the IOC released the composition of its 14 Working Groups (WGs), tasked with the formulation of theme-specific recommendations. Hence, these WGs will play a decisive role in the substantial outcome of the whole process. Indeed, the detailed recommendations provided will later be compiled and submitted to the IOC session, the body responsible for amending the Olympic Charter and deciding on the IOC’s fundamental political orientations. The WGs include IOC members and external experts. The themes attached to the WG are: Bidding Procedure (WG1), Sustainability and Legacy (WG2), Differentiation of the Olympic Games (WG3), Procedure for the Composition of the Olympic Games (WG4), Olympic Games Management (WG5), Protecting Clean Athletes (WG6), Olympic TV Channel (WG7), Olympism in action including Youth Strategy (WG8), Youth Olympic Games (WG9), Culture Policy (WG10), Good Governance and Autonomy (WG11), Ethics (WG12), Strategic review of Sponsorship, Licensing and Merchandising (WG13), IOC Membership (WG14).

As one can easily judge, the themes covered by these groups are mostly in line with the direction defined a priori by the IOC for the Olympic Agenda 2020. There is little sign of a reflection centered on the role and responsibility of the IOC concerning the enforcement of fundamental rights and standards at the Olympic Games. Furthermore, the scope of competences of each WG is not defined rigorously; thereby, leaving substantial room for interpretation of the scope of remits covering for example fields as broad as ethics. Surely, independent experts like Hugette Labelle (Director of Transparency International) and Leonard McCarthy (Integrity vice-president of the World Bank) are not suspicious of collusion with the IOC, but will they be enough to tilt the balance in favour of the societal concerns expressed? This cherry picking of external personalities supposed to ensure the independence and good faith of the whole process cannot compensate for its procedural deficiencies. In light of the secrecy and vagueness surrounding the WGs agenda, competences and meetings, there is little hope for a responsive reform process to unfold.

Conclusion: Plus ça change, moins ça change?
The IOC is at an institutional crossroad. The Olympic Games are being overtly and loudly contested. Citizens are protesting against their organization, as they have (definitely?) lost their mythical aura and turned into a commercial fair obsessed by its financial returns. Is this state of play going to change with the new Olympic Agenda 2020? It is rather unlikely, but anybody keen on defending the Olympic Games as a unique cosmopolitan and ludic encounter must speak now or forever hold his peace. Indeed, the outcome of the process under way will most likely structure the (political, social, economic) orientations followed by the Olympic Games in the years to come. An intensification of the hunt for economic returns by the IOC would estrange it even more from its societal base and surely intensify the decline of what has been the most successful global happening ever conceived. Public scrutiny and societal irritation are more necessary than ever if the change brought forward by the Olympic Agenda 2020 is to mean real change.