Sports Law

Our sports law barristers have represented individual athletes, football players and clubs, national and international sporting governing bodies. 

How our sports law barristers can help you

Chambers’ team of sports lawyers have acted in some of the most significant sports law cases of the past 25 years. Individual sports barristers as well as Chambers itself are consistently ranked as leaders in sports law in the UK and internationally.

Our sports lawyers regularly appear before:

• Court of Arbitration for Sport
• The Football Association
• Premier League Judicial Panel
• EFL arbitral and disciplinary tribunals
• National Anti-Doping Panel
• UEFA
• FIFA

and the regulatory bodies of other sports – such as boxing, horse racing, athletics, motor racing, fencing, tennis, golf, winter sports and rugby (including World Rugby, the RFU and ECPR) and cricket (ECB and ICC).

Areas of sports law

Our sports law experience covers all disciplinary and regulatory matters, including doping, safeguarding, ethical disputes, selection disputes, and paralympic classification disputes.

Football disputes

Our sports barristers have acted in some of the most significant football disputes of the past 20 years, including acting for Wigan in the “Webster” case on the construction of Article 17 of FIFA’s statutes, for Mohammed Bin Hammam in his successful appeal to CAS on appeal from a FIFA ethics decision, the Carlos Tevez affair, The Ashley Cole “tapping up” case and frequently advising national FA’s in South America and Asia in relation to International disputes and acting for some of the best known and prestigious Clubs and players in football today.

Olympics

Members of chambers have appeared in IOC ethics investigations and disciplinary cases, including the WADA investigation into breaches of ethics as regards allegations of doping by Russia. Chambers was on the Pro Bono Panel for London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Members of chambers have appeared in Olympic and paralympic selection disputes across a range of sports, including equine events.

Cricket law

Chambers’ sports lawyers acted in the cricket spot fixing trials involving Pakistani test cricketers, the IOC investigation into corruption and doping in athletics as well as for a host of household names across the complete range of sporting endeavour.

Disciplinary and regulatory breaches

The sports law work undertaken includes the full range of disciplinary and regulatory breaches (including allegations of failing to control fans and preventing racist behaviour, spot fixing and match fixing) as well as contract disputes between players and clubs, including disputes over “third party” ownership, and the “Bloodgate” case in Rugby.  Jim Sturman QC acted for Dan Gosling in his successful application for a declaration that he was entitled to a “free transfer” from Everton FC. Our sports barristers have vast experience in defending sportsmen and women for “aggravated breaches” and inappropriate social media posts.

Members appointments relating to sports law

In addition to appearing before sports tribunals, several members of Chambers also hold appointments across a wide-range of sports, including:

• Football Association Judicial Panel
• Rugby Football Union Appeal Panel
• English Cricket Board disciplinary commissions
• Lawn Tennis Association, (Safeguarding and Protection Committee)
• England Boxing Disciplinary Board
• British Rowing
• The Sport Resolutions’ Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators
• PGA Disciplinary Panel

Sports law legal directories

Chambers is rated by the legal directories as being in the top rank for criminal work and members of Chambers frequently represent sports personalities who fall foul of the criminal law, ranging from serious offences (including the horse race fixing trial) to traffic offences.

Latest Sports Law news and publications

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