Football News

Pep Guardiola faces fresh questions about allegations of financial wrongdoing by Manchester City Football Club. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he believes the club is not guilty of financial wrongdoing as it faces accusations of more than 100 breaches of Premier League rules. Guardiola was asked more questions about the allegations after Everton was deducted a league-record 10 points last week for financial breaches. The league has accused City of dozens of breaches of its rules. 

They include providing misleading information about its finances over a nine-year period from 2009-18. Potential punishments could include a point deduction or even expulsion from English soccer’s top division. The severity of Everton’s unprecedented punishment has raised questions about the sanctions that could be imposed on City.

Manchester City’s 3-3 draw with Tottenham ended in fury for the champions, prompting Pep Guardiola to say he would not make a “Mikel Arteta comment” and Erling Haaland to write “wtf” on X after the referee, Simon Hooper, stopped play with Jack Grealish clear on goal in added time.

Chris Farnell advises leading Premier League and Football League Clubs, leading sporting and media agents and a number of high profile sporting individuals on a wide variety of matters.

Chris’ practice areas include: Sports, Media & Entertainment. He specialises in image rights, third party ownership issues, player transfers, intellectual property contracts, contract re-negotiations, sponsorship and endorsement contracts, defamation, sports dispute resolution, footballer and agent disputes, doping hearings, regulatory issues, and both contentious and non-contentious intellectual property law. Find out more about this story and Chris Farnell lawyer here.

 Man City Premier League charges explained

In February 2023, Man City were charged by Premier League with numerous alleged breaches of financial rules; The Premier League has referred the case to an independent commission; Man City won their seventh league title last week and are on course to land a treble of trophies this season. Here, in the Chris Farnell IPS Law blog, we explore these charges, punishments and timecales. 

As Pep Guardiola calls for a swift resolution over Manchester City's alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules, Sky Sports News' chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol explains what are they, how serious the charges are and how long will this process take. The charges will clearly send shockwaves throughout the world of sport. 

Commenting on Tuesday, Guardiola said he will remain at the club next season, even with the spectre of the alleged rule breaches hanging over them.

"Maybe we did something wrong, everyone will know it, and if we are like we believe we are, like we have done as a club for many years in the right way, then the people stop talking about that. We would love it tomorrow.

"Hopefully they are not so busy, and judges can see it and listen to both sides, and at the end decide what is the best. Because in the end, I know firmly that what we won on the pitch we deserve it, I don't have any doubts."

The Premier League has charged Manchester City with breaching its rules on more than 100 occasions over multiple years. If proven these would be the greatest offences committed by a club in the history of the competition.

The independent commission which will consider the charges could recommend that City be expelled from the competition, suspended or docked points if it finds the club guilty. Those sanctions are listed in the Premier League’s handbook but a commission is clear to apply any punishment it considers appropriate.

The six-times Premier League champions have been accused of failing to give “a true and fair view of the club’s financial position”, of failing to “include full details” of player and manager remuneration, of failing to comply with rules regarding financial fair play and failing to cooperate in a Premier League investigation that has concluded after more than four years.

Find out more about these charges and the latest football legal news, check back on the law blog soon. Learn more about Chris Farnell and read his latest news online on this Chris Farnell blog. Make sure you leave your comment and subscribe below. 

£20M Negligence Suit for Breach of Duty

Welcome to the Chris Farnell football news and sports law news blog. London firm Mishcon de Reya has admitted breach of duty by failing to file a hard copy of an appeal bundle in time on behalf of a former Premier League football club, the High Court heard today. The claim centres on the signing of midfielder Ricardo Alvarez.

The firm accepts it failed to file Sunderland AFC’s appeal bundle in hard copy with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in time during a long-running dispute over the signing of an injury-prone player, but denies that the breach caused any loss to the club.

Sunderland’s professional negligence claim, which the court heard is valued at around £20m but is understood to now be for a smaller sum, centres on the signing of Argentinian midfielder Ricardo Alvarez from Italian giants Inter Milan in 2014.

Under the deal, the player joined the then-Premier League club on loan and would be signed permanently if a pre-existing injury to his left knee did not get any worse. Sunderland says that, after a number of injuries, Alvarez saw a specialist who recommended surgery on his right knee for which Inter Milan would not give permission – so the club terminated the transfer and the player’s contract.

Inter Milan brought proceedings against Sunderland in a case that ultimately went to CAS, which ordered Sunderland to pay Inter Milan €10.5m (£8.8m) plus costs.

Separately, Alvarez successfully brought a claim against Sunderland for wrongful termination of his contract, with the dispute resolution chamber of football’s governing body FIFA ordering the club to pay £4.2m plus interest.

The club appealed to CAS and Mishcon filed an electronic copy of Sunderland’s appeal brief in time, but failed to file a hard copy before the deadline. CAS dismissed Sunderland’s appeal and, on Alvarez’s cross-appeal, ordered the club to pay its former player £4.77m plus interest of £1.1m. Sunderland claims that, as a result of Mishcon’s breach of duty, it lost the chance to challenge FIFA’s jurisdiction and lost the opportunity to argue that Alvarez lied about his knee injury.

However, Mishcon argues that ‘it is inevitable that CAS would have dismissed Sunderland’s appeal’ in any event. CAS rejected Sunderland’s assertion that Alvarez made any fraudulent misrepresentations ‘in unequivocal terms’ on the player’s cross-appeal, Mishcon’s barrister Daniel Saoul QC told the court. Chris Farnell is a sports lawyer from IPS Law. In this blog we follow the latest news and views from the world of sports law. Find out more about Chris Farnell Charlton here. Follow Chris Farnell on Facebook here.

Five substitutions in football

Welcome to the Chris Farnell news blog. Legal changes affecting the game happen all the time, however sometimes they are more important than others. Here we will discussed the recent changes brought in to the beautiful game. Football law makers have recommended five substitutions are implemented permanently in the sport. Find out more here. 

The rule was first introduced by the International Football Association Board (Ifab),in May 2020 - a month before football restarted after being paused because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Premier League voted against its continuation in the 2020-21 season.

Individual football leagues and competitions will be able to decide whether or not to take on the new rules. The decision by them follows a meeting chaired by Fifa on Wednesday, involving Ifab's Football and Technical Advisory Panels. This is an interesting development. 

The Ifab commented: 

"FAP-TAP today recommended that competitions should be able to decide on increasing the number of substitutes according to the needs of their football environment, while the current number of substitution opportunities should stay the same."

The law makers said it follows "a number of requests from confederations, associations, leagues and other key stakeholders for this option to be introduced permanently". Many Premier League sides are believed to have felt having five subs would unfairly benefit major clubs with stronger squads.

However, some leading managers, including Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City's Pep Guardiola, have previously said the limit on changes has contributed to injury problems. As a sports lawyer, this is something to monitor closely. 

Chris Farnell advises leading Premier League and Football League Clubs, leading sporting and media agents and a number of high profile sporting individuals on a wide variety of matters. To find out more about Chris Farnell from IPS Law online. You can also follow him on the Chris Farnell Facebook page.

 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 Betting

Welcome to the Chris Farnell blog. Sports gambling has a long history in the UK and was first legalised by the Betting and Gaming Act 1960. It is estimated to generate £15 billion in annual revenues and is growing at a rate of up to 8% per year. However, following increased media and parliamentary scrutiny in recent years, with heightened public awareness of issues such as gambling addiction, the industry now faces potentially drastic legislative or regulatory interference.

Meanwhile, the Gambling Commission has been increasingly flexing its enforcement powers, issuing its record fine by some distance of £11.6m to Betway for accepting stolen money from high-spending and potentially addicted ‘VIP’ customers. At the same time, the Gambling Commission has received criticism for its failure to revoke Betway’s licence.

It is anticipated that one of the most likely measures to be introduced by the Review is the gradual prohibition of advertising by betting operators on sports kits and at sports grounds. Perhaps in anticipation of the Review, and a potential ban, betting companies have already come up with novel ways of reacting to a changing public attitude towards sponsorship. 

At this crossroads in the relationship between the sports and gambling industries, companies may weigh up their odds by reflecting on the diverse reactions to imaginative approaches to sports sponsorship. However, in the face of heightened media attention on issues surrounding gambling harm, reflected in increased parliamentary scrutiny of the relationship between gambling and sports, the odds are stacked in favour of a legislative and regulatory overhaul. This could well lead to tighter controls in the UK sports betting industry, particularly in relation to sports sponsorship and advertising.

Did I miss something? Let me know in the comment section below

Chris Farnell aims to keep you completely up to date with any changes in UK legislation. Learn more about Chris Farnell online here. Visit the IPS Law website here.  Read the latest Chris Farnell Charlton news here.