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Abstract: Abstract The right to freedom of speech and expression is a widely proclaimed right but far less protected, especially in the sporting arena. The compulsion to maintain political neutrality and autonomy of sports have resulted in various impediments to athlete’s freedom of speech and expression in sport. This right is restricted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter. Rule 50(2) prohibits any demonstration or political, racial and religious propaganda in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas. Athletes with their expression, have the power to inspire. However, in the name of political neutrality, athletes who inspired generations with their protest against racial injustice, from John Carlos, Tommie Smith to Colin Kaepernick, faced suspensions for such activism. This paper analyses and questions the limitation imposed by Rule 50 on athletes to right to freedom of speech and expression. It is argued that the principle of political neutrality should not reign supreme over athlete’s right to freedom of speech and expression. In doing so, the paper contributes to the existing literature by substantially analysing the theoretical reasoning for protection of this right with in-depth analysis of the application of the proportionality principle that justifies the restrictions imposed on freedom of expression in a sporting context. From a policy perspective, the paper suggests for revision of Rule 50 and implementation of a remedy process mechanism to promote Olympics goal to further human rights and bring a positive reform. PubDate: 2023-11-27
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Abstract: Abstract The governance of sports and the role of sports governing bodies is at the centre of contemporary academic debates. This is because the status quo has come under attack in several high-profile court cases, especially those involving the International Skating Union (ISU) and the European Super League (ESL). This article provides a critical reflection on the current state of affairs, as viewed through the lens of these cases, and presents suggestions for reform. PubDate: 2023-11-17
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract It has been more than 13 years since the end of the last major America’s Cup litigation in 2010. Regrettably, the world’s oldest ongoing international sport is still yet to recover from the effects of that litigation with fewer competitors competing for the Cup since. Is there a better way to resolve competitor disputes when there are no agreements in place to arbitrate, without the risk of again damaging this historic sport' The Deed of Gift governing the competition, without analysis or argument has been assumed by litigants and the New York courts, to create a New York-based charitable trust. The majority of the New York Court of Appeals in their Mercury Bay judgment of 1990 questioned this characterisation in a brief footnote, but since then the New York courts have continued to rely on the same assumption, according to the majority, simply because “none [of the Mercury Bay] of the litigants have raised it”. This paper reviews the Deed and finds it suffering from legal deficiencies that perhaps call into question the Deed’s status as a legal document and as a charitable trust. These deficiencies also raise the question of whether the mid-nineteenth century Donors of the Cup had legal intent but perhaps intended a gentlemen’s agreement, binding only in honour, rather than at law to be enforced in the civil courts' The paper also explores how the Donors intended competitor disputes are to be resolved and finds that there is a dispute resolution provision hidden within the terms of the Deed, which is likely to be in the best interests of the sport, if it were to be to applied, in place of litigation in a courtroom. PubDate: 2023-09-11
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Abstract: Abstract Awareness of human rights and related principles, such as equality and non-discrimination, is growing in sports. While debates on doping regulation typically target the contours of the prohibition and the sanctioning regime, much less attention has been given to how anti-doping detection impacts the level playing field, i.e. whether equality is realised in the manner in which the substances and methods are detected in athletes’ samples, or whether athletes are all equal when it comes to the analytical cut-offs that the regulations set. This article seeks to fill this gap and explores the implications of differentiation—or non-differentiation—in anti-doping detection for principles of equality and non-discrimination. After discussing notions related to equality in anti-doping detection, the article presents case studies from current anti-doping analytics, to make differentiation in that context tangible. Based on case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the Swiss Supreme Court and the Court of Arbitration for Sport, we submit that anti-doping authorities should resort to an operational ‘discrimination test’ when drafting technical regulation for anti-doping, in order to incorporate these principles ‘by design’ into the detection system. The article also demonstrates that—apparently—technical rules are not value-neutral, but that scientific data and policy choices are entwined in a way that warrants debate on the political scene, and creates duties of transparency and justification on part of the decision-makers. PubDate: 2023-09-04 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-023-00245-6
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Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract This paper aims to examine the legal framework and principles governing the Statutes of the Iranian Football Federation [FFIRI (The acronyms FFIRI and IRIFF have been interchangeably employed in various correspondences involving the AFC and FIFA). The FFIRI Statutes, which defines and explains the legal structure of the organization, is central to the establishment of judicial principles governing the football organization. It serves as the official framework for establishing substantive legal principles, and as such, is subject to challenges. The challenges surrounding the FFIRI Statutes are primarily concentrated around three main areas: sports-related laws, legal structure definitions in the Statutes, and the jurisdiction of judicial bodies within the Football Federation. In this article, a comparative analysis of the latest version of the FFIRI Statutes with its previous version is presented to assess the resulting improvements and shortcomings, as well as identify any remaining unaddressed issues, both in terms of form and substance. PubDate: 2023-08-02 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-023-00246-5
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Abstract: Abstract The ECJ's Super League proceedings are keeping sports antitrust law busy. The author outlines the European Sports Model of Art. 165 TFEU and its relevance for the antitrust review of sports association regulations. Furthermore, the opinion of Advocate General Rantos is assessed from the author’s point of view. PubDate: 2023-08-01 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-023-00244-7
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Abstract: Abstract Many new sports markets, particularly in developing nations, have seen the rise of sports leagues for about the first time. This may be the first study to look into sports leagues in their early stages of development and discover elements that contribute to their success. As a result, the characteristics of professional sports league viewership growth in India are estimated in this study. The impacts of team quality and outcome uncertainty on the characteristics of selected professional sports league attendance in India are investigated in this study. The main goal of the study was to compare the viewership of different professional leagues, i.e., Indian Premier League (IPL), Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), Indian Super League (ISL), and Pro Wrestling League (PWL). The secondary data of the first 5 years of the viewership of these leagues were taken to compare their success, which was obtained from different sources like BRAC reports, leagues’ websites, news articles, Duff and Pheleps reports, and team sports stars. The data on the Viewership of the leagues were recorded in a population of millions. Further, study the sociological and economic factors influencing watching pro-league sports. With the raw data structure of the dependent variable and independent variable considered in this study, the Tobit model was used. Further, descriptive statistics were used to analyze the viewership. Viewership (population in millions), increased viewership (population in millions) all the year, and increased viewership percentage difference (between the years) were represented in separate tables of all the mentioned leagues. Based on the results and findings, it was concluded that the Pro Kabaddi League witnessed the highest viewership (i.e., in the first 5 years of the league) in contrast to the Indian Premier League, Indian Super League, and Pro Wrestling League which are discussed in a detailed manner. As a result, the consequences of team management and league policy are examined, as well as future study objectives on professional sports leagues and viewership demand. PubDate: 2023-08-01 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-023-00243-8
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Abstract: Abstract In World Anti-Doping Agency v Sun Yang & Fédération Internationale de Natation (Sun Yang), the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) sanctioned China’s most successful swimmer with an eight-year period of ineligibility for intentionally interfering with a blood sample collection attempt in violation of the World Anti-Doping Code; a decision that was later partially overturned. This hearing was afflicted with translation and bias issues that undermined public confidence in the legitimacy of the award, and in CAS arbitrations more broadly. Employing the lens of global administrative law (GAL), this article assesses the extent to which the CAS hearing lacked procedural fairness. It argues that, while the hearing procedures in Sun Yang complied with CAS protocol, there is scope for reform that draws further on administrative law principles to ensure greater procedural fairness protections and improve the legitimacy of all CAS awards. PubDate: 2023-07-11 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-023-00242-9
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Abstract: Abstract Mankind has taken its due course of time to evolve to what we are today biologically, but technologically, we have advanced at a pace that cannot be matched. There is an ongoing debate as to whether eSports should even be considered as sports (Todt et al. in J Hum Sport Exerc, 2020, https://doi.org/10.14198/jhse.2020.15.Proc1.10) but with the increase in number of professional tournaments being held and investments flowing, eSports are practically similar to physical sports. Recently Intel even announced a professional tournament for Street fighter V and Rocket league, in collaboration with the International Olympic association, called Intel World Open, which was supposed to be a pre-Olympic event for Tokyo 2020 (The tournament has now been shifted to 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic COVID-19). The field of eSports also suffer from problems that physical sports do, and one of the major problems is cheating by doping. Since there is a difference in physical sports and eSports in the way they are played, the doping methods are very different as in the former more strength and/or agility enhancing doping agents are used to cheat, while in the latter its mostly mental ability enhancing dopants. Along with such traditional doping, eSports also suffers from the problem of mechanical doping, as a participant in eSports is a combination of a machine and the human, thus, unlike physical sports, anti-doping regulations of WADA or NADA are not adequately efficient in eSports. Although there exists multinational organisations such as ESIC or the IeSF, there is a lack of uniformity that most physical sports enjoy. IeSF, the body with the greatest number of national federations as members, applies WADA regulations as a whole, even though many of those regulations can have zero effect on the performance of a player in eSports. There is a need for a single International eSports Regulatory authority/federation for which inspiration can be drawn from other regulatory authorities like FIDE or FIFA. The paper seeks to understand the impact of doping in eSports and suggest some solution(s) for the same. PubDate: 2023-07-03 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-023-00236-7
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Abstract: Abstract Technological advancements in the equipment and laboratories used by anti-doping bodies means that minute levels of prohibited substances can be detected in an athlete's blood or urine. This had led to an increase in athletes testing positive for prohibited substances where the quantity of that substance in the athlete's sample is very low. This article will consider the role that decision limits and minimum reporting levels play with respect to prohibited substances identified in the World Anti-Doping Program. Recent CAS awards are analyzed to determine whether, and how, the issue of threshold requirements for prohibited substances should be further regulated. PubDate: 2023-07-03 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-023-00241-w
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Abstract: Abstract In light of observed deficiencies in democratic accountability of SGBs (Freeburn, Regulating international sport, power, authority and legitimacy, 2018; Freeburn, SSRN Electron J, 2020; Geeraert, Sports Governance Observer 2015, 2015) and limitations of other forms of accountability, this article argues that there is a need for robust legal scrutiny of the decisions of SGBs when it comes to potential human rights infringements. However, the governing structures of many sports, the typically insular mechanisms of dispute resolution and the lack of ‘reach’ of human rights instruments combine to create an environment where avenues to seek redress for perceived human rights interferences by SGBs are limited. As human rights concerns proliferate in sport, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), as the current de facto ‘supreme court’ for sport, is likely to have an increasingly important role to play in considering, determining and framing human rights norms in a sporting context. Yet, it has been suggested that the CAS, as currently constituted, is ill equipped to play such a role (Krech, Int Sports Law Rev 3:66–76, 2019; Heerdt, The court of arbitration for sport: where do human rights stand', 2019; Ruggie, FIFA and human rights, 2016). This article considers the recent litigation in Semenya v IAAF as a paradigmatic example of sporting self-regulation and potential interference with substantive human rights and evaluates whether the CAS’s approach reflects such concerns. In doing so, the article considers whether the ‘intensity of the review’ (Rivers, Cambridge Law J 65:174–207, 2006) of the IAAFs justifications for discrimination undertaken in Semenya was sufficient. It is argued that the Semenya litigation raises important wider concerns about a possible lacuna in accountability for SGBs with regard to decisions that result in human rights infringements. PubDate: 2023-06-15 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-023-00239-4
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Abstract: Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic exposed sports administrators’ lack of crisis management preparedness and athletes, coaches, and support staff’s lack of mental preparedness for a pandemic. Sports administrators were in the unenviable position of having to protect the health of their athletes, staff, and the wider population by preventing the spread of the COVID-19 disease with restrictive policies, such as bio-bubbles and quarantines, while at the same time not restricting anyone’s liberty and unalienable rights to pursue happiness. This article informs sports administrators how to balance health instructions from regulatory bodies with measures protecting individual liberty. It provides sports administrator’s legal recommendations they can follow and psychological advice that they can pass on to their athletes, coaches, and support staff. The article also explains to coaches and support staff how to manage, and athletes how to successfully cope with, future bio-bubbles, quarantines, and the next pandemic. PubDate: 2023-06-12 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-023-00240-x
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Abstract: Abstract The World Anti-Doping Agency aims to promote clean sport through the introduction and implementation of harmonised rules under the World Anti-Doping Code, 2021 (the Code). Since WADA relies heavily on National Anti-Doping Organisations to implement the Code, the experience of anti-doping differs across countries. Some scholars argue that the current framework disproportionately impacts athletes from developing countries. This paper contributes to this debate by analysing systemic issues in the implementation of the Code in one such country—India. The legitimacy of anti-doping in India has been questioned as a result of the recent suspension of the National Dope-Testing Laboratory, a series of false positive tests, accusations of significant procedural and substantive errors by domestic tribunals, and access to justice challenges. Given the prevalence of doping in India, alongside the accumulation of recent controversies and push for reform, a deeper analysis of anti-doping in the country is warranted. The lack of compliance in India with certain requirements set out in the Code, as well as the failure to meet “best practice” standards set by other jurisdictions, is evidence that there is a lack of harmonisation in implementing anti-doping rules and procedures across countries. This paper contributes to the debate on the impact that a lack of harmonisation in the implementation of the Code can have on the legitimacy of the anti-doping framework. From a policy perspective, the proposed research agenda and recommendations can be applied to promote reform in India and other jurisdictions, especially in developing and emerging countries. PubDate: 2023-03-01 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-022-00220-7
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Abstract: Abstract In recent regulatory memory, we have seen several tools proposed to enhance boardroom diversity. Scholars situate these tools on a spectrum between “hard” and “soft,” with quotas at the former end and disclosure at the latter end. In 2003, the Rooney Rule, an NFL policy, entered the scene. The Rule mandates that when a head coach vacancy arises, teams must interview at least two racialized candidates. Can the Rule fill the space between quotas and disclosure on the regulatory spectrum' In proposing a response, I draw on and compare corporate legal, sociological, and critical race theory and commentary. I evaluate the Rule as a “third way” to diversify hiring practices by conducting a literature review and analysis. My research seeks to determine the most useful approaches to examining how the Rule has redefined hiring within the NFL and whether the Rule can be applied to Silicon Valley. PubDate: 2022-12-30 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-022-00232-3
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Abstract: Abstract Sport is a microcosm of society. In this connection, in as much as there are reasons to celebrate individual athletic prowess and the undeniable contribution of sport to the maturation of communities, sport, like the broader society, contends with many ills, not least sexual violence. Although various sporting organizations and governments have, in the last 2 decades, adopted legislative instruments and Codes of Ethics and established various institutional mechanisms to combat the scourge of sexual violence, sport remains a hot bed for sexual violence, intimidation, reprisals and indignity in many jurisdictions. This article accordingly interrogates, from a Feminist Perspective, recently decided cases to illustrate how sexual violence committed against women and girls in the sporting context reflects a broader deeply entrenched system of patriarchy, characterized by a culture of silence, indifference, and abuse of authority. It concludes by calling on all concerned in the governance, administration, and practice of sport to redouble their efforts to address the growing problem of sexual violence in sport. PubDate: 2022-11-11 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-022-00230-5
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Abstract: Abstract Over the past two decades, several states have enacted legislation criminalizing the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports, otherwise known as doping. The decision to criminalize doping raises an important question: ‘Is the criminalization of doping use justifiable'’ In an attempt to justify a criminal response, proponents of the criminalization of doping use have advanced various arguments such as arguments from fraud, health risk, and protection of the integrity, image and value of sports. This paper presents counter-arguments that plead against the criminalization of doping and critically evaluates whether any of the said arguments justifies the criminalization of doping. It is argued that none of the proposed justifications provides sufficient reason, let alone a compelling case, to criminalize doping use. It is also concluded that a criminal response is disproportionate, unnecessary, and impractical. If sound, this implies that the criminalization of doping use is unwarranted and potentially contributes to the crisis of ‘over-criminalization.’ PubDate: 2022-07-12 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-022-00223-4
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Abstract: Abstract This article discusses the Value-Added Tax (VAT) discipline relating to the representation services offered by football intermediaries in the contractual negotiation of the employment contract between the player and the club(s). The analysis is carried out taking into consideration the relevant legislative provisions of European Union (EU) law as well as the case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the findings of the EU VAT Committee. The VAT discipline of representation services provided by football intermediaries is first analyzed in light of the EU legislative acts regulating the different legal figures of intermediation contracts and the effects on the EU internal market. Then, the legal nature of the “intermediation commission”—as the VAT chargeable event—and the “place of supply of the intermediation service”—as the place of taxation—as qualified by EU tax law, are studied. Finally, the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provisions regarding VAT chargeability of intermediation services are analyzed. The article concludes arguing that, at the moment, it does not seem that the TCA has specifically reformed the regulation of the VAT chargeability of the intermediation commission received by football agents for their representation services in negotiating an employment contract between the player and the club(s). PubDate: 2022-06-07 DOI: 10.1007/s40318-022-00216-3
Hybrid journal (It can contain Open Access articles)
