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.

 Chris Farnell Lawyer Property

Welcome to the Chris Farnell Lawyer blog. IPS Law’s clients include recording artists, record labels, TV personalities and managers. However, sports lawyer previously involved with Charlton and other football clubs is also providing legal services in property. Earlier this month, the Halifax house price index said prices fell 2.6% in the 12 months to June - the largest year-on-year decrease since June 2011 - equivalent to a £7,500 cut in the average house price.

A typical property now costs £285,932, down from a peak of £293,992 last August.

Our extensive entertainment and media experience includes providing advice in relation to the following areas:

We pride ourselves on our: 

• Quality and efficient service delivered with a personal touch.

• Dependable and pragmatic advice which is carefully considered paying close attention to detail and conveyed in a clear and concise manner.

• Communication and negotiation skills.

Our services include: -

• Buying and selling.

• Lettings for both landlords and tenants and other related management work which include consents for alterations; assigning a lease, subletting.

• Financing.

• General property issues which include rights over property eg rights of way, rights to connect to services and releasing of restrictive covenants, dealing with flying freeholds, unregistered titles, neighbor’s rights.

 First Woman Referee in Men’s World Cup - and in Qatar 

Yesterday, in a historic first, a woman referee took charge at the Men’s Football World Cup. FIFA is keen to celebrate how French referee Stéphanie Frappart and her assistants, Brazil’s Neuza Back and Mexico’s Karen Díaz, adjudicated the match between Germany and Costa Rica, as proof that it is advancing gender equality. Significantly, this historic moment took place in Qatar where authorities treat women as legal minors in their own country.

In a 2021 report, I documented how Qatar’s laws, policies, and practices require women to obtain male guardian permission to marry, study on government scholarships, work in many government jobs, travel abroad unless they marry or turn 25, and obtain certain forms of reproductive healthcare. Men, on the other hand, need no such permission once they turn 18. Many of these rules don’t have any legal basis and are contrary to Qatar’s own constitution which guarantees women’s equality before the law.

Qatar is keen to show it has three female ministers, many high achieving women, and more female graduates than men and claims that in 2010 it was the only country to have a female lead in the World Cup bid. Many women who have broken barriers said they were either lucky enough to do so with the support of their families, or had to fight for approval over their decisions.

This is great news for women in the sport. Most women told me of the heavy toll such rules have taken on their ability to lead independent lives, including when male guardians denied them permission to drive, travel abroad, study, work, or marry a person of their own choosing. Qatar’s severe discriminatory rules leaves them an outlier even among their own neighbors.

 The Rise Of Crypto Sponsors In Sport 

Welcome back to the Chris Farnell sports law blog. Here we bring you the latest sports law news. The UK Government, following their recent “comprehensive review” of gambling laws is considering regulating the use of betting companies in English football, which may include a ban on being the main front-of-shirt sponsors.

This could have a profound impact.  Last season, nine of the twenty Premier League clubs had gambling companies as their front-of-shirt sponsor, as well as another six teams in the Championship.

Teams are however already looking elsewhere for sponsors, and these are increasingly coming from the Cryptocurrency sector – A sector which comes with its own set of challenges and concerns.

Betting firms getting the Boot

Top 5 Football Scandals

 Welcome back to our sports law blog. There has been plenty of controversies involving football, and for a sport attracting plenty of attention and generating plenty of money, it is likely to have its fair share of controversies as well.

Although, most footballers do have excellent virtues and can be a role model on and off the pitch, there are many who are involved in affairs and the like, and when they do get caught, it is devastating for the footballer and those around them.

There have been many scandals in world football ranging from match-fixing to drugs, and many footballers have been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. This is a list of the top 5 of these scandals, brought to you by the Chris Farnell lawyer blog. 

1. The Calciopoli Scandal 

Calciopoli Scandal in 2006 rocked world football when it emerged that many top clubs in Italy had been involved in influencing the appointment of referees for their games among various other allegations.

Juventus who had won the 2005 and 2006 league were stripped of their titles and were relegated to Serie B where they stayed for one season before returning to top flight immediately. Though Juventus were punished seriously for their involvement, AC Milan and some other clubs could consider themselves fortunate not to endure such serious consequences.

It had a major impact on Italian and world football, and since then, extra precautions have been enforced in football in this regard. Juventus have since not won a single league title and have not been the same force in the last few seasons though under the diligent Antonio Conte, they have shown that they can be serious contenders for the title this season.

2. John Terry's Affair with Wayne Bridge's Wife 

Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge was devastated after it emerged that John Terry could be involved in an affair with his wife Vanessa Perroncel. Bridge and Terry have played together for both Chelsea and England in the past and were considered to be good friends before this incident. It is no surprise that Bridge reacted in this manner and even refused to play for England if he is to play alongside Terry.

In the games against Chelsea that he has taken part since details of the alleged affair emerged, he has refused to shake hands with Terry. The Chelsea defender also had a tough time following the affair, considering that he was stripped of his captaincy before the world cup by Fabio Capello and had to endure plenty of criticism.

3. Robert Hoyzer's Fixing Scandal

German referee Robert Hoyzer was under the scanner after the German football federation suspected him of rigging a Cup game involving Hamburg. He had initially denied the charge but later accepted that he was to be blamed and promised to cooperate completely for the investigation. In the game between Hamburg and Paderborn that was investigated by the DFB, he awarded two penalties against Hamburg and also sent off a Hamburg game.

4. Adrian Mutu Drug Scandal 

Adrian Mutu was signed by Chelsea FC in August 2003 from Parma for big money and then, just over a year of his stay at Stamford Bridge, he was embroiled in plenty of controversy when he was sacked after he was found using cocaine.

This led to his suspension, and he was subsequently moved on by the club. Mutu was ordered to pay a bill in excess of £14.6 million after he was moved on under forced circumstances by the Blues. 

5. The Murder of Andres Escobar

Colombian defender Andres Escobar was murdered in July 1994 just after the team was eliminated from the World Cup due to his own goal, and it is widely believed that it was why he was killed.

It could be some drug traffickers who lost money betting on the team that they targeted the respectable defender. In the above video, it is quite clear that it was an unfortunate error which could happen at times even to the best defenders of the game, and it is a tragedy that he was murdered.

To read more football news and sports law updates, check back soon our blog. You can also read the Chris Farnell lawyer blog here. 

What is sports law?

Welcome to the Chris Farnell sports law blog. Sports law requires an in-depth familiarity with the leading figures in sports, great knowledge of sport laws and regulations, knowledge of sport institutions and legal proceedings within various legal frameworks. Sports law has a global potential and has been regarded as a gold-mine and untapped market, especially in developing regions. 

Recent news

 Manny Pacquiao may have a difficult time fighting again in the United States if he decides to come back from retirement even for just one bout. The 43-year-old eight-division world champion is still dealing with some legal issues with Paradigm Sports Management at the Superior Court of California.

And while there’s buzz that a Pacquiao comeback is imminent this year according to MP Promotions head Gibbons, a source privy to the situation thinks otherwise. The case filed by PSM – a sports management agency that handles UFC star McGregor – stems from its allegations that Pacquiao breached an earlier agreement with them regarding a fight with welterweight contender Garcia.

But the source denied Gibbons’ claims, saying the situation is similar to what happened the last time when they failed to sign Mayweather for a rematch after the Keith Thurman fight in 2019. They said this was stipulated in the contract Pacquiao signed with promoter Premier Boxing Champions in 2018. They added the only way Pacquiao would be able to fight again in the US is to settle his case with PSM, show remorse and apologize for turning back on his obligations. Find out more about Chris Farnell here. 

Read more about the latest news regarding footballers contracts on Chris Farnell blog here 

On 30 January, an decision was made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which FIFPro, the European professional footballers' union, has already said will be the most significant case to impact upon the football transfer system since Bosman. This case was related to  Andrew Webster, formerly of Heart of Midlothian FC (Hearts), who independently, terminated his contract under article 17 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players  in May 2006, and then signed for Wigan Athletic FC (Wigan). Andrew Webster joined Hearts in March 2001 for a transfer fee of £75,000 on a four-and-a-half-year contract. He then signed a new four-year contract in July 2003.

Hearts were unhappy so disputed with  FIFA in November 2006, and in April 2007 FIFA's Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) ordered Webster and Wigan to pay Hearts £625,000.

In May 2007, Andrew Webster, Wigan and Hearts, who were all unhappy with the DRC's verdict, appealed to CAS. Hearts requested a payment of £4.6 million in contractual damages, including a claim of £4 million in respect of the alleged replacement value of  Andrew Webster and the loss of opportunity to transfer him. Wigan and  Andrew Webster requested that the compensation be fixed at an amount representing no more than the residual value of his contract - his total salary over the remaining term of the contract.

In its findings, CAS stated that the nature of professional sport required  a reasonable balance between the needs of contractual stability on the one hand and the free movement of players on the other, to find solutions that found to be  the good of football by reconciling in a fair manner the various and sometimes contradictory interests of clubs and players.

CAS found that any alleged estimated value of a player on the transfer market cannot be considered because that form of compensation is not clearly agreed upon contractually, and to impose it by regulation would simultaneously cause the club to be enriched and the player to be punished.

CAS also decided that Hearts did not have the right to claim reimbursement of any portion of the transfer fee paid for Andrew Webster because the fee must be reduced over the term of the contract, and Webster had remained with Hearts for longer than the agreed term of four and a half years under his first contract.

The CAS found that , beyond the protected period, it would be admissible for a club to reclaim a portion of the transfer fee as compensation for unilateral termination, unless such a form of compensation was agreed between the parties and stipulated in the employment contract.

It was discovered that the most appropriate criterion of article 17 to apply and determine the level of compensation due to Hearts was the remuneration remaining due to the player under the employment contract upon its date of termination, which was £150,000, plus interest from the date of termination of the contract. This is significantly less that the £4.6 million claimed by Hearts and is also much lower than the £625,000 that the DRC ordered Andrew Webster and Wigan to pay to Hearts under the original petition to FIFA. In addition, CAS found that  Andrews Webster and Wigan were jointly and severally liable to Hearts for the sum on a strict liability basis. They also considered aggravating factors like if conduct of the player, agent or club (current or future) - was left open in this case because there was no evidence of such factors. Such factors may therefore be relevant in future matters.

In Summary the decision although criticised by FIFA, has to be taken at this stage to represent the legal framework within which the football industry must now operate. Clubs must consider how they can protect themselves in the light of this legal framework, this will include careful drafting of players' contracts and more frequent contract renegotiation. Players will also be able to use this decision to pressure clubs into more regular renegotiations of contracts. The likely inflationary effects on wages and destabilisation of contractual stability for clubs will no doubt frustrate FIFA and others within the football industry.

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. Learn more about Chris Farnell Charlton here. 

 Chris Farnell Interview on Facebook about Charlton

Former Charlton director Chris Farnell has been cleared for football club ownership by the EFL. The solicitor had his role as the club solicitor at The Valley terminated in August. He was informed today that his Disqualification Condition has been lifted after successfully appealing to an independent League Arbitration Panel.

The Panel heard that, an inadvertent mistake had been made during the initial Owners and Directors Test application, and that there was no dishonest or deliberate attempt to provide false or misleading information. 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.

The decision means Mr Farnell is now free to reapply, under the EFLs OADT, if he wished to do so without prejudice or restriction.A spokesman for Mr Farnell, said: “Following a hearing on Tuesday October 28 2020, before an independent League Arbitration Panel, Mr Farnell succeeded in his Review Application of the EFL’s decision to impose a ‘Disqualifying Condition’ upon him under the EFL’s Owners’ and Directors Test.”

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.

Farnell was initially appointed by Tahnoon Nimer as a boardroom battle kicked off with Matt Southall and Jonathan Heller. Watch this video to find out more about Chris Farnell and his involvement with Chris Farnell Charlton Althletic football club. Here is an interview from Facebook with Chris. Make sure to leave your comments below and follow our football blog. Here is the Chris Farnell Charlton video.

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.

 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.