Sports Law

FIFA has been handed a letter supported by over one million petition signatures, as well as special shirts, demanding that it provide compensation to migrant workers who suffered  human rights abuses while working on the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar. The items were delivered to FIFA ahead o

Eoghan O'Sullivan of KOD Lyons considers the circumstances in which players can cross the line on the pitch and end up before the criminal courts. This year's season of GAA games saw some exciting and amazing displays of athleticism from the best that our counties have to offer in both hurling and f

Lawyer and business executive Ruth Nic Aoidh has been appointed as interim chief executive officer of Paralympics Ireland. Ms Nic Aoidh brings a wealth of leadership and sports experience through her 13 years with McLaren in the UK where she most recently was the executive director responsible for p

James Milliken of Belfast-based Carson McDowell discusses the National Anti-Doping Panel's recent decision regarding cricketer Tom Wood. The National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP), an independent tribunal responsible for adjudicating anti-doping disputes in sport in the UK, recently handed down a decisio

Dublin solicitor Ciarán Kirwan will step down as chair of the board of directors of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) next month. Mr Kirwan and the IABA's CEO, Fergal Carruth, announced their resignations last week after an extraordinary general meeting rejected proposed reforms to

A newly-announced blanket ban on transgender women participating in Irish rugby may amount to unlawful discrimination, legal rights organisation FLAC has warned. The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) yesterday published an updated gender participation policy which states that players "are only permi

A lawsuit involving a group of rugby players diagnosed with early-onset dementia is likely to go ahead. UK firm Rylands Law is to issue proceedings in England and Wales on behalf of a group of professional and semi-professional players against World Rugby as well as the Rugby Football Union and the

William Fry partners Derek Hegarty and Craig Sowman examine an English case concerning the rules on civil liability in negligence for serious injuries relating to professional footballers. Fulham Football Club successfully appealed an earlier ruling that found the club vicariously liable for a tackl

FIFA has launched a new online platform through which proceedings before the FIFA Football Tribunal and FIFA judicial bodies will be conducted. The FIFA Legal Portal, which went live on Sunday, enables football stakeholders – such as clubs, players, associations, intermediaries, law firms with

Sports lawyers Louise Reilly and Susan Ahern have been nominated for appointment as directors on the board of Cycling Ireland. Ms Reilly is a barrister and a leading anti-doping expert, while Ms Ahern is the former head of legal and compliance at World Rugby.

Football fans who racially abuse players will be banned from attending matches for up to a decade under new laws in England and Wales. Home secretary Priti Patel is introducing legislation to widen the ambit of football banning orders – which can be imposed on people convicted of violence, dis

A fund set up by the legal community to assist the resettlement of Afghan women judges and their families in Ireland has passed the €50,000 fundraising milestone following a donation from the Sports Law Bar Association (SLBA). The association donated €1,334.40, the entire proceeds of its r

Belfast solicitor Brian Speers has been appointed as chair of the new Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) ethics commission. Following on from the adoption of a comprehensive code of ethics and conduct, the ethics commission is a completely independent body tasked with maintaining the highest standa

William Fry lawyers Patrick Murphy and Laura Flanagan talk about spectator litigation in sport where spectators are struck by golf balls, rugby balls or ice hockey pucks while attending sporting events. While litigation taken by spectators is relatively rare in Ireland, it has arisen in golf, i

Sports insurers across Ireland could face significant legal challenges depending on the outcome of landmark litigation in the UK courts, insurance risk and commercial law firm BLM has warned. More than 70 former rugby players are suing the sport's governing bodies for allegedly failing to protect th