What Is Sports Law?

Welcome to Chris Farnell law blog, ever thought of getting into sport law, here a breakdown of how to get into the work of sports law. 

Sports Law consists of the below elements:  

Contract Law relating to a sportsperson’s sponsors

Employment law relating to one’s club or federation contracts

European Union Law relating to the impact of freedom of movement on transfers

Criminal Law concerning doping or on-field altercations

Unlike areas such as conveyancing, criminal or family law, this specialism cannot necessarily be described as an individual entity that you can train in. Rather than being able to simply study and qualify in in the subject, you would need to have a working knowledge of various legal specialties.

Sports Law in England & Wales

In the late part of the 19th Century, courts began to accept that sport in any form cannot continue to exist without checks or regulations. Some commentators would seek to argue the law stops at the touchline but the actions of both Parliament and judges make clear that the law can and must regulate spectators and sportspeople.

The law has faced problems for example when examining on-field violence, with judges debating whether the conduct falls short of the law or is, in fact, acceptable within the confines of the sporting arena.

The following acts give a brief overview of this legal area:

Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975

1986

Football Spectators Act 1989

Football Offences Act 1991

Football (Disorder) Act 2000

How to Get Into Sports Law

To give yourself the best chance of starting a career in the field, you should:

Have an general interest and knowledge in sport. Unlike other areas of law where knowing the substantive content is arguably enough, you cannot succeed in the field without a wide interest and passion for the subject

Look at key cases. Whereas most other areas of law are resolved under English and Welsh Law, this is often not the case in sport. The highest appellate body is the Court of Arbitration for Sport who make decisions on cases using their own principles mixed with Swiss Law

Find work experience – whether that’s at a law firm with a sports law department or in another career field within sports

Salaries

There are no fixed salaries for solicitors and sports law salaries will inevitably vary based on the firm’s size and location. The most up-to-date figures according to the Law Society indicate that in 2018, the recommended annual salaries were as follows:

Trainee in London – £22,121

Trainee Outside London – £19,619

Fully Qualified Solicitor in Private Practice – £62,000

Fully Qualified Solicitor in Greater London – £88,000

South England – £63,000

Midlands and Wales – £46,000

North England – £43,000

Where barristers are concerned, they are seen to have more specialist knowledge, allowing them to out-earn solicitors by a significant margin. That being said they are self-employed and work can be sporadic, whereas solicitors are guaranteed a regular salary.

Firms

Some firms in and out of London that deal with the subject are as follows:

Brabners LLP

Walker Morris Solicitors

Richard Nelson LLP

Harbottle & Lewis

Morgan Sports Law

Learn more  Chris Farnell  and his work in sports law here. 

 Key legal issues in Football - player transfers

Welcome to the Chris Farnell lawyer blog. Here we will discuss some of the key legal issues that have to be taken into account when players transfer between clubs. The football transfer market is, by its very nature, rife with speculation, and often the general public is left in the dark about the finer legal considerations that help shape the deals. Sports lawyers have the aim of giving their clients the best deal. These are the three points they take into consideration when doing just that. 

Image rights provisions tend to form an increasingly crucial part of high profile football deals, given the importance of generating commercial off field revenue. In the case of high profile players with a genuine commercial value in their image, a separate image rights deal tends to be entered into between the club and the company to which the player’s image has been assigned. This is an important consideration to make when negotiating a transfer.

A players image is crucial to negotiating transfers. Some clubs elect to ring fence certain product and service categories where the player has a pre-existing deal and accept that they will not seek to exploit the player's image in a club context in conjunction with their sponsors who compete with the player's own sponsors; other clubs will still look to exploit the player's image in a club context in conjunction with competitor brands within the parameters of the existing player deal.  Advisors should be very clear in their strategic planning of personal endorsement deals and upon signing for a new club, should be mindful of the likely conflicts or opportunities that club’s sponsors may present to the player personally and for their clubs.

Grounds for termination or reduction in fees of the player is important to work out form the beginning. Clubs want to protect themselves, but the players deserve protecting also. A player or sport has been brought into disrepute will result in the commercial value of the player’s image being diminished. Players’ advisers will inevitably look to tighten the wording of these provisions as much as possible being clear about what constitutes a breach in specific terms. It is important to get this clear from the get-go in order to not avoid problems later on for the player or the club.

Tax indemnities are another area where clubs’ positions vary a lot. Having the right lawyer clear this up for a player or club is important. Some clubs seek an indemnity from the player in the event of HMRC determining that further taxes are due whereas other clubs may agree to share the financial liability in the event that further taxes and National Insurance payments. In the context of a transfer, the commercial and tax position often turns on the player’s bargaining strength and how much the club require his on field services this will often dictate how far the club is prepared to ‘bend’ when negotiating the image rights contract. Ensuring that the deal is right for everyone involved is essential.

Release clauses can operate in different ways. For example, Benteke’s release clause of £32.5m appears to be realistic estimate of his open market value. Read our blog for more important legal considerations coming soon. Find out more about Chris Farnell lawyer online here. Read the latest Chris Farnell lawyer news in the Mirror here.

 Sports Injury Claims

Welcome to the Chris Farnell blog. Most sports injury claims consist of a traumatic injury, as opposed to an overuse-type injury. This is due to the fact that you cannot expect to hold another person liable for injuries that happen due to overexertion over time. However, if a sport’s participant causes injury to another participant, it may form the basis of a civil lawsuit. Sports law encompasses legal issues involving both amateur and professional sports. Claims often overlap with labor law, contract law, antitrust law, and tort law. 

Some examples of the most common sports injuries include, but may not be limited to broken bones; head injuries; concussions; hip flexor strains; hamstring strains; acl strains and/or tears; pulled muscles, especially groin pulls; shin splints; sciatica; tennis or golf elbow, which is due to the overuse of forearm tendons; and/or shoulder and knee injuries.

Although a person may assume the risk of injury when participating in a sport, there are some exclusions to the assumption of risk doctrine. How these legal theories may be applied depend on the nature of the sport. Some exclusions to assumption of risk doctrine include Negligence Standard: If a player’s negligence causes another player’s injury, they may be held liable for damages. Asserting negligence requires proof that the defendant breached the duty of care they owed to the plaintiff, and this breach of duty caused the plaintiff’s injury. An example of this would be if a player fails to abide by safety rules of the game; Defective or Faulty Equipment: If the sports equipment used was somehow faulty or defective, and those faults or defects were not anticipated when you voluntarily played the game, you could have a claim against the owner of the property or equipment manufacturer. This may only apply if you were injured as a direct result of the equipment being defective or faulty.

It is imperative to remember that under the assumption of risk doctrine, you cannot generally sue a defendant for your injuries if you signed a contract stating that you would not sue them. A waiver form would be the most common example of such a contract. The purpose of assumption of the risk is to prevent defendant liability, as well as deter an injured party from bringing a lawsuit.

However, expressing assumption of risk is a defense based in contract law. As such, there are a few things to consider The contract may not be in violation of public policy if the contract cannot cover intentional acts. What this means is that if a race car track owner intentionally leaves a wheel in the road with the intention of hurting the plaintiff, the assumption defense will not work; and the plaintiff did not have the capacity to understand the contract. 

If you wish to file a sports injury lawsuit, you should absolutely consult with an attorney like Chris Farnell.

Our experienced lawyers represent many professional sportsmen, sportswomen and teams. Visit the Chris Farnell IPS Law website today to find out how we can provide legal advice for your needs. Learn more about Chris Farnell Lawyer  on his about.me page here. You can also read the latest Chris Farnell Charlton news here. 

 Esports

Welcome to the Chris Farnell blog. The UK Gambling Commission has stated that video games can be construed as gambling where prizes are available, that these prizes are the equivalent of money or money’s worth, and the game mechanics are such that winning a prize involves a greater degree of chance than skill. However, on the basis that esports, rather than video games, involve sufficient skill to avoid this, the main link between esports and gambling is the ability of individuals to bet on the result of match-ups and competitions as they would on any other sport.

As one of the only sports that can be conducted remotely, esports and gambling on esports saw substantial growth at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is reflected by UK gross gambling yield (GGY) rising from just £0.05million in March 2019 to £3.39million in April 2020. Although customers now can return to betting on their usual preferred sports, the introduction of many bettors to esports is likely to have increased awareness and knowledge that will accelerate growth more quickly than without the pandemic.

Two main issues are being discussed when it comes to gambling on esports – gambling integrity, and gambling advertising:

On integrity, there is an unfortunate track record of players “throwing” a match or using “cheat” software to gain an advantage over an opponent, otherwise known as “edoping”. There have been several instances of match-fixing, particularly in Asia, and there remains no overarching esports regulator to monitor and enforce as you would find in other sports. The industry has started to self-regulate, including the formation of the esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) in 2016.

Gambling operators spend substantial resources advertising through traditional sports. In esports, where children constitute a significant proportion of the target market, this therefore poses a dilemma. Regulation is limited to that already in force, for example, the UK Advertising Standards Authority prohibition of gambling advertising where there is a reasonable expectation that the majority of a user base are underage. However, outside of those circumstances, operators are free to advertise, provided players in the ecosystem permit it.

Sports & Media Law

Welcome to the Chris Farnell blog. As a sports and media lawyer, you will be providing advice on business agreements, contracts of performance, financial transactions, litigation and employee management and benefits. Lawyers will handle cases on defamation, libel, slander, encroachment on privacy, unsubstantiated allegations or declarations against individuals.

Entertainment law covers radio, music, television, films, art, theatre, books, websites and magazines. Your work will usually consist of providing advice on commercial contracts, intellectual property matters, content standards and employee management. 

Sports lawyers can represent players, clubs, sports agents, regulatory associations or sponsorship companies. Sport is a seriously big business and, as a legal professional in this industry, you will need to be on the ball. You will often have to work on several areas of law; from telecommunications, finance and intellectual property, to negligence and privacy.

The working atmosphere in most places where media and sports law is practised is very informal, modern and friendly. This does not mean that work is not to be taken seriously though, as cases and deals will usually involve huge sums of money. Despite this, sports and media lawyers tend to receive smaller salaries than those who work in large firms where corporate, banking and finance rule the roost. Nevertheless, it is still a very attractive area of law.

Chris Farnell provides quick, creative and simple solutions to clients’ problems and thoroughly know the ins and outs of the sporting area you are involved in. Find out more about Chris Farnell on his IPS Law website  here. Connect with Chris Farnell Lawyer on Linkedin here. Alternatively, you can read the latest Chris Farnell Charlton news here.

Esports

Welcome to the Chris Farnell blog. The esports gaming industry is expected to continue to grow over the next few years and consequently, as seen with the sports industry and gambling, so is the demand for esports betting services. This enthusiasm for esports betting services is occurring. Just as with traditional sports, fans follow teams, watch matches and even attend cup finals, cheering on their favourite stars from around the world and the professionalisation of esports continues to accelerate at a blistering pace. 

In 2020, European giants Fanatic secured a $10m investment before going on to successfully close a £2m crowdfunding round. Similarly, fellow UK team Excel Esports continued their professional evolution by securing a groundbreaking partnership with a non-endemic sponsor, BT.  

Excel also brought in new leadership, including the former director of global marketing at Adidas, to help further their aim of becoming a leading household brand. However, it is not only esports teams that are looking to professionalise. As demonstrated by the number of disputes, there’s been a real increase in esports players seeking to protect themselves by appointing their own legal advisors.

Sports regulators also around the world seem to be gearing up for a year of introducing tougher rules.

For instance, following high-public defeats for the English Football League and Uefa in landmark judgments opposite Derby County and Manchester City respectively, we are likely to see changes to the regulatory regime that football clubs are subject to. 

In particular, this could mean the introduction of salary caps in the Championship to replace the existing financial fair play rules. 

Fans of several clubs will be hoping that the regulators take a sensible approach to enforcement, though, ultimately recognising diminution in value of club’s assets and revenues that were completely unforeseen and have impacted even the best run clubs. 

We are also likely to see the imposition of stronger rules, including caps on fees, for agents. 

Such measures will be hotly contested, though, and ironically, in light of Brexit, may be stopped in their tracks by legislation that originates from Brussels. 

booming demand for esports betting services has created commercial opportunities for players in the esports industry. Indeed, the esports betting industry appears to be primed for quick growth. However, the extent of this growth will depend on, among other things, how consumers, legislators, and industry stakeholders work together to ensure that the various stakeholders’ concerns and perspectives are adequately represented. We will continue to monitor how the esports betting industry continues to adapt and grow.

Check back soon for more!

Chris Farnell has experience advising on sports matters. You can follow Chris Farnell Lawyer on Twitter, where we frequently share our recent advice on sports law. Visit the Chris Farnell IPS Law website here for the latest big sports issues here. You might be interested reading the Chris Farnell Charlton news here.

Third Party Ownership

Welcome to the Chris Farnell Lawyer blog. The issue of Third Party Ownership in football remains a live one, despite FIFA’s outright prohibition in 2015. Any analysis of the current landscape needs to start with an understanding of what is meant by Third Party Ownership, or TPO for short. It reflects the practice, previously widespread in large parts of world football, whereby an investor, the third party, would invest in a player, a club or an academy, usually by way of a loan, in return for a right to a percentage of the future transfer fee or fees that the player who is the subject of the investment attracts.

TPO was a common practice in many parts of the world before FIFA banned it – in particular in Latin America and in Spain, Portugal and Italy. It allowed many smaller clubs to compete with bigger clubs by being able to purchase players for less than they would do had there not been third party investors holding some of the rights of the player. 

The main problem with TPO, however, was the risk of Third Party Influence, that is the risk of third party investors influencing the playing or trading polices of the engaging club. Third Party Influence leads to a number of other problems – potentially undermining the integrity of football, especially where a third party has an interest in a number of players in the same competition, and undermining team stability where third parties are incentivised to force multiple transfers for economic and not football reasons.

So, for example, a loan from a bank to a football club securitized against a 20% assignment of the future fee the club might receive from a transfer of its best player is prohibited. A club’s right to a “sell-on fee” from a second club to which it has sold a player (something not prohibited, because the first club is not a “third party”) cannot be assigned to another party. Imagine Club A sells Player X to Club B for GBP  1  million (approx. EUR 1.17 million) and there is a 25% sell-on fee; three years later Player B’s value has increased to GBP 4 million (approx. EUR 4.7 million), Club A shall receive GBP 1 million when Club B sells the Player for GBP 4 million to Club C. But Club A cannot assign the right to that future sell-on fee, even though there is little real risk in Club A (as a third party) assigning the right or indeed interfering in the ability of Club B to decide whether or not to sell Player X.

In light of all these factors, while governing bodies and regulators will face the harder task of monitoring players (in addition to clubs), if they intend to ensure effectiveness of the ban (which remains) in place under art.18-ter of the FIFA Regulations.

Sports law

Welcome to the Chris Farnell Lawyer blog. While there may not have been as much action on the pitch in 2020, this year has been an eventful one. Esports it’s no longer just a game. The professionalisation of esports continues to accelerate at a blistering pace. 

In 2020, European giants Fnatic secured a $10m investment before going on to successfully close a £2m crowdfunding round. Similarly, fellow UK team Excel Esports continued their professional evolution by securing a groundbreaking partnership with a non-endemic sponsor, BT. As demonstrated by the number of disputes, there’s been a real increase in esports players seeking to protect themselves by appointing their own legal advisors. 

The Premier League TV times. The next auction for domestic broadcast rights to show the Premier League from 2022-23 is set to conclude in 2021. The headline last time around was the entrance of Amazon, which secured 20 Premier League matches a season for its Prime Video platform. 

However, given the rise of other streaming platforms such as DAZN, which splashed onto the scene in 2018 signing the first ever $1bn boxing deal with Matchroom Boxing, having been advised by Mishcon, we could still see a challenge to the dominance of traditional broadcasters Sky and BT. Either way, the legal terms will certainly be pored over. If the Premier League does pursue this route, it could constitute a transformative shift.

Rather than taking a softer approach in light of the pandemic, sports regulators around the world seem to be gearing up for a year of introducing tougher rules and ans of several clubs will be hoping that the regulators take a sensible approach to enforcement, though, ultimately recognising diminution in value of club’s assets and revenues that were completely unforeseen and have impacted even the best run clubs. 

We are also likely to see the imposition of stronger rules, including caps on fees, for agents.  Such measures will be hotly contested, though, and ironically, in light of Brexit, may be stopped in their tracks by legislation that originates from Brussels. 

Our experienced lawyers represent many professional sportsmen, sportswomen and teams. Visit the Chris Farnell IPS Law website today to find out how we can provide legal advice for your needs. Follow Chris Farnell Lawyer on instagram here. You can also read the latest Chris Farnell Charlton news here. 

Commercial Contracts

Welcome to the Chris Farnell blog. With the potential financial rewards available in professional sport, and the importance of protecting rights and the revenue generated, it’s not surprising that individuals involved in sport often look to solicitors to protect their interests.

The employment of sports professionals is legally no different to other employment situations. A good contract should always prevent disputes and encourage business performance, which is why it is necessary to choose experienced solicitors when drafting your commercial contracts. Lawyers who represent athletes have generally been trained in the fundamentals of contracts and should be familiar with the current market value of their client relative to other athletes within the same sport. 

Our experienced solicitors at the IPS Law prepare contracts and understand everything about getting a deal done, but equally important getting the terms of the deal right.

We make sure that we understand the nature of the commercial issues that face our clients. It is from this understanding that we identify how to resolve them. We understand that the needs of each client and the circumstances of each deal are never the same and where each agreement needs to address the specific commercial challenges.. 

Chris Farnell is passionate about sports law, and is dedicated to helping all players and stakeholders in this evolving industry to focus on what they do best. Contact Chris Farnell IPS Law online and  speak to one of our dedicated sports law solicitors. Follow Chris Farnell on his Medium page here. You can also read the latest Chris Farnell Charlton news here.

 Sports and IP

Welcome to the Chris Farnell blog. Sports is an Intellectual Property rich industry. Recent trends have shown that elite sportspersons are afforded increasing protection of their image rights. Examples include images of sportspersons in advertising, television and computer gaming. If your image has been used by another person or company in order for them to make financial gain, you are entitled to a proportion of the gain that your image generated.