NEWS: CAS issues decisions concerning Russian athlete & Russian coach

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The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued decisions concerning the Russian athlete Anastasiya Bazdyreva (800m) and Russian athletics coach Vladimir Mokhnev, after the IAAF referred their cases to the CAS.

Anastasiya Bazdyreva has been found to have violated Article 32.2(b) of the IAAF Competition Rules (the IAAF Rules) which concerns “Use or Attempted Use by an Athlete of a Prohibited Substance or a Prohibited Method” and a two-year period of ineligibility, beginning on 24 August 2015, has been imposed on her. All results achieved by Anastasiya Bazdyreva between 23 April 2014 and 24 August 2015, are disqualified and any prizes, medals, prize and appearance money forfeited.

Vladimir Mokhnev, the coach of elite Russian athletes Yuliya Stepanova and Yekaterina Kupina, amongst others, has been found to have violated the IAAF Rules relating to possession, trafficking and administration of banned substances and/or methods and a 10-year period of ineligibility, beginning on 23 December 2016, has been imposed on him.

The CAS has acted as first instance decision-making authority for these matters, substituting for the All Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF), which was suspended at the time the matters were ready to be adjudicated (and which remains suspended). The cases were referred to the same Sole Arbitrator. The evidence submitted by the IAAF in each case, namely admissions by the persons concerned contained in covertly-obtained recordings, was ruled admissible, and showed to the Sole Arbitrator’s comfortable satisfaction that they had breached the IAAF Rules.

UEFA to review rules prohibiting political protests: A Victory for Freedom of Expression?

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On  a day where politics in football was thrashed once again into the spotlight, UEFA released a statement confirming that it was to review the flexibility of its current disciplinary regulations that provide a blanket ban on all political messages, at football matches, across European competitions.

How did we reach this stage?

The current UEFA rules on political messages can be found under Article 16(2)(e) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations 2016 which state that all associations and clubs are liable for the use of gestures, words, objects or any other means to transmit any message that is not fit for a sports event, particularly messages that are of a political, ideological, religious, offensive or provocative nature. That same section applies strict liability whereby all associations and clubs are liable even in the event that they can prove the absence of negligence, on their part. 

As a result of those rules, many clubs and associations have been sanctioned for fans displaying political messages in some way or another, some of which include:-

• FC Barcelona
• Celtic FC
• St Johnstone
• Dundalk FC
• Football Association of Albania
• Football Association of Serbia
• Beitar Jerusalem
• St Etienne
• Romanian Football Federation
• Football Federation of Moldova
• Legia Warsaw

Some clubs, such as FC Barcelona and Celtic FC whose stadiums have historically been a forum for political protest, have repeatedly received sanctions through the years for flying banners and flags (deemed to be political, by UEFA). This came to a head, however, in June 2016, when FC Barcelona received yet another sanction, for fans flying the Estelada flag. 

CAS reduces sanctions imposed on Real Madrid in relation to transfer of minors

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The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decision in the arbitration procedure between Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (Real Madrid CF) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

The appeal of the Spanish club has been partially upheld. As a consequence, the decision rendered by the FIFA Appeal Committee (FIFA AC) on 8 April 2016 is set aside and replaced by a CAS decision in which the following elements of the FIFA AC decision have been modified: Real Madrid CF is banned from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, for one entire transfer period (previously two); Real Madrid CF is ordered to pay a fine to FIFA of CHF 240,000 (previously CHF 360,000). Finally, the reprimand imposed by FIFA is maintained.

Club Badges, Trademark Infringement & Charitable Organisations

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Intellectual property is one of the most important income streams for sport clubs as the sector becomes increasingly more and more commercialised. IP rights are vigorously protected to safeguard not only the club but also fan-exploitation.

Whilst club designs may fall into the copyright domain, trade marks are also used for logos/badges/names etc as they are an enforceable right that do not expire after a set term of years and derive from the actual 'use' of the mark. If the owner continues to use the registered mark, the right will last forever.

What is a trade mark?

Trade marks are known as a 'badge of origin' and can have great economic value to it's holders.

A trade mark is defined as being 'any sign capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings.'

Trade marks can take a number of forms including logos, badges, phrases and distinctive patterns & designs, such as the five golden rings associated with the Olympics.

NEWS: 4 year ban imposed on footballer following doping offences

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RELEASE:

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decision in the arbitration procedure between the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, the Saudi Arabian Anti-Doping Committee and the Saudi Arabian football player Mohammed Bin Mohammed Noor Adam Hawsawi. 

The appeal has been upheld by the CAS Panel: the decision rendered by the Saudi Anti-Doping Appeal Panel on 17 April 2016 is annulled and a four year period of ineligibility, beginning on 15 December 2016, has been imposed on Mohammed Noor, with credit given for the period of ineligibility already served (30 November 2015 through 17 April 2016).

In November 2015, the player underwent an in-competition doping control. The A and B samples returned adverse analytical findings for Amphetamine, a prohibited substance classified as a non-specified stimulant under class S6 of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Prohibited List. The player was provisionally suspended on 30 November 2015. On 28 February 2016, the Saudi Arabian Anti-Doping Hearing Panel found that Mohammed Noor committed an anti-doping rule infraction and imposed a period of ineligibility of four years.

NEWS: World Rugby announces new measures to limit head contact

PRESS RELEASE:

World Rugby has further strengthened its commitment to injury prevention by announcing details of a zero-tolerance approach to reckless and accidental head contact in the sport.

While injuries in the game are not on the rise, the federation continues to be proactive in furthering evidence-based strategies to reduce injury risk for all players.

In a change to law, World Rugby has redefined illegal (high) tackle categories and increased sanctions to deter high tackles via a law application guideline. This will apply at all levels of the game from 3 January 2017 introducing minimum on-field sanctions for reckless and accidental contact with the head, effectively lowering the acceptable height of the tackle.The guideline will be supported with a global education programme. 

The approach, approved by the World Rugby Council after extensive expert, independent and union evaluation, combines with new disciplinary sanctions and a re-focus of match officials on dangerous play. It will provide a package of measures that aims to change culture in the sport to ensure that the head is a no-go area.

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: "World Rugby continues to be proactive in aligning with the latest evidence-based recommendations in this priority player welfare area to ensure players and coaches at all levels of the game are appropriately educated, managed and protected when it comes to head impacts and injury within the environment of a contact sport.

"We believe that we are playing a leading role in terms of the development and implementation of best-practice interventions and this important study further reflects our commitment to an evidence-based approach to player welfare. We believe that the invaluable data from this study will inform the law review process and lead to changes in playing or training practices."

NEWS: Further changes for Champions League, commencing 2018

UEFA's executive committee met today, in Switzerland, to discuss changes to the Champions League commencing 2018. 

One of the major changes was the introduction of two separate kick-off times: 19:00CET and 21:00CET. For those of us in the UK, that is 6pm and 8pm. This will allow fans to watch more games and even improve the TV ratings for some games. Two fixtures are set to kick-off at the earlier time with six fixtures kicking off, later in the evening. 

Another change is the new access list which continues to provide the 55 national associations with a chance to qualify for the group stage of both club competitions. However, it will also now ensure that all domestic champions eliminated in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League get a second chance in the European competitions by entering a dedicated champions' path in UEFA's Europa League. 

Turning to the club coefficients, there will no longer be a 20% contribution of the respective national association coefficient. This is to avoid any further unfair advantage for clubs of top-tier associations and penalisation of clubs with good individual performances but a weak-association co-efficient. 

In terms of clubs and seeding, the co-efficient used for seeding purposes will be calculated from results over the last five years only. This is to reflect the current strength of the teams and there will not be bonus points for previous titles.

UEFA open disciplinary proceedings against Celtic

Celtic FC are about to feel the wrath of UEFA, for the second time this season, following their Champions League clash with Manchester City, last night, at the Etihad Stadium.

UEFA announced today that it was opening disciplinary proceedings against the club following reports of  crowd disturbances and pyrotechnics. The confirmation of sanctions is scheduled for 23 February 2017.

UEFA's Disciplinary Regulations govern order and security at UEFA competition matches. Under Article 16(1) "host clubs and national associations are responsible for order and security both inside and around the stadium before, during and after matches. They are liable for incidents of any kind and may be subject to disciplinary measures and directives unless they can prove that they have not been negligent in any way in the organisation of the match."

NEWS: CAS dismisses the appeal of Sepp Blatter

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decision in the arbitration procedure between Joseph S. Blatter and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The appeal of Joseph S. Blatter has been dismissed. As a consequence, the decision rendered by the FIFA Appeal Committee (FIFA AC) on 16 February 2016 remains in force and Mr Blatter remains banned from taking part in any football-related activity at national and international level for six years as from 8 October 2015 and must pay a fine of CHF 50,000.

In March 2016, Mr Blatter filed an appeal at the CAS in which he requested that the FIFA AC’s decision be reversed; that he be acquitted of all ethics charges and that his ban be vacated.

The arbitration procedure was conducted by a panel of CAS arbitrators, composed of Mr Manfred Nan, President (Netherlands), Mr Patrick Lafranchi (Switzerland) and Mr Andrew de Lotbinière McDougall (Canada/France). The Panel heard the parties at a hearing which took place at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on 26 August 2016.

NEWS: SIBEL ÖZKAN KONAK APPEAL DISMISSED BY THE COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decision in the arbitration procedure between the Turkish weightlifter Ms Sibel Özkan Konak and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The athlete’s appeal has been dismissed and the decision taken by the IOC Disciplinary Commission on 21 July 2016 is confirmed. As a consequence, the results obtained by Sibel Özkan Konak during the Beijing Olympiad, including a silver medal in the -48kg weightlifting event, are disqualified and the athlete must return her medal, pins and diploma. 

On 18 May 2016, the athlete was informed by the Turkish National Olympic Committee that a urine sample tested at the Beijing Olympiad had been reanalysed and showed the presence of Stanozolol metabolite, a prohibited substance both then and now under the World Anti-Doping Code. The B sample analysis carried out on 27 May 2016 confirmed that positive result.