‘Is Football the Same Without Fans?’: Valuable lessons when negotiating broadcasting agreements

Last month, it was reported that the value of the overseas broadcasting deals entered into by the English Premier League (‘EPL‘) nudged past the £5 billion threshold for the 2022-25 rights cycle, whilst also surpassing the value of domestic deals for the same cycle for the first time.

Given these substantial investments, it is no doubt worth considering what protections and assurances broadcasters can expect under the terms of their media rights agreements, and, on the other hand, what degree of flexibility rights holders can seek in the delivery of the relevant rights. This is particularly the case in light of the disruptions to the organising and staging of sporting events across the world over the course of the last few years. It is almost two years to the day that the 2019-20 EPL season was interrupted, before resuming in June 2020, albeit with empty stadiums and on a rescheduled basis.

It was against this backdrop of ‘football behind closed doors’ and the further changes to the schedule that the High Court recently considered, amongst other things, the level of flexibility afforded to rights holders in meeting their delivery obligations under broadcasting agreements and how this could turn on the particular terms agreed.

Disqualified For Technical Breach Despite No Advantage: The Cautionary Tale Of A Rally Driver

By Andrew Moroney on March 4, 2022 Posted in CAS, Case review, Court of Arbitration for Sport, Discipline, Dispute Resolution, Formula One, Governance, Law, Motor Racing, Rules and regulations

This article was written for and first published by LawInSport.

While nearly all of the column inches relating to recent FIA stewarding decisions have (unsurprisingly) focused on the fall out of the ‘Hamilton v Verstappen’ F1 2021 season finale, an interesting recent decision 1 in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC3)2 underlines just how impactful decisions in the fast-paced world of motorsports can be.

In November 2021, the International Court of Appeal (ICA) of the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) handed down its judgment in the appeal brought by Mr Yohan Rossel (Driver) against the decision of the Stewards of the EKO Acropolis Rally (Greek Rally)3. The Driver had been disqualified by the Stewards from the rally as the front subframe of his car during the rally weighed more than the authorized maximum weight. The ICA rejected the Driver’s appeal in favour of the decision of the Stewards.

This is an interesting decision as it highlights that performance advantage is not a necessity to be sanctioned if found in breach of the applicable regulations. It also showcases the limited scope that exceptional circumstances in relation to technical irregularities can be admitted in.

This article examines the factual background of the case in point, as well as the various key takeaways that drivers and teams would do well to heed going forwards.

Real Estate Law May Soon Play A Role In The Metaverse

By Squire Patton Boggs on March 2, 2022 Posted in Blockchain, eSports, Intellectual Property, Law, Metaverse, Social Media, Technology, Virtual Reality

This article originally appeared in Law360 on February 15, 2022. Authored by Alexis Montano, Real Estate Associate, Phoenix, AZ.

The metaverse is a mix of augmented virtual reality that operates with the help of blockchain functions such as nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, and cryptocurrencies.

Think of the metaverse as a universe with several platforms making up the actual virtual planets. These platforms include Decentraland, Sandbox and Mirandus, among others.[1] Current technology aims to develop these digital spaces into reflections of the real world, blurring the lines between physical and virtual reality.

The two biggest platforms, Decentraland and Sandbox, have been headlining recent news for their larger-than-life real estate transactions. Between Nov. 22 and 28, $106 million worth of virtual real estate was purchased from just four of the metaverse platforms, with Sandbox raking in $86.56 million of this total.

Although we broadly categorize these transactions as real estate, the assets being traded are NFTs. NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital assets that are indivisible and not interchangeable.[2] This correlates to owning a piece of real property where no two are the same.

Additionally, NFTs are managed by digital ledgers called blockchains much like ownership of real estate is documented in county public records. While deeds contain the legal description of the property you own, NFTs contain metadata that describe the asset they represent.
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The FA v Marc Bola

By Thomas Horton on February 23, 2022 Posted in Case review, Discipline, FA Rules, Football, Governance, Law, Player contracts, Rules and regulations, Social Media, UK Sport, Uncategorized

On 3 September 2021, The FA announced that Marc Bola (“the Player”), of Middlesbrough FC, had been charged with misconduct for an alleged Aggravated Breach of the FA Rules, 2021/2022 (“the 2022 Rules”), rules E3.1 and E3.2 (“the Charge”).

The Charge related to a Tweet the Player posted from his Twitter account on 14 April 2012. The Tweet has since been deleted but it is understood that the Tweet made reference to sexual orientation and was deeply offensive.

The Rules, rules E3.1 and E3.2 state:

‘A Participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and shall not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour’.

‘A breach of Rule E3.1 is an “Aggravated Breach” where it includes a reference, whether express or implied, to any one or more of the following :- ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality, religion or belief, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation or disability’.

The Player is currently 24 years old. At the time of the Tweet subject to the Charge, the Player was 14 years old and was part of Arsenal FC’s Academy.

The Jump Off: Two Equestrian Leagues Continue To Go Head To Head

By Dannielle Jones on February 9, 2022 Posted in CAS, Case review, Confidentiality, Court of Arbitration for Sport, Equestrian, Law, Litigation, Uncategorized, US Sport

horse jumping The equestrian sport of show jumping takes place across the world, attracting an ever-increasing media profile. It therefore comes as little surprise that event organisers have sought to ride the wave of the sport’s growing interest and publicity by seeking to establish various new show jumping competitions.

Two such leagues are Major League Show Jumping (“MLSJ“), which debuted in 2021, and the National Equestrian League (“NEL“), which is still yet to launch (despite having been approved by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (“FEI“)).

The advertised potential prize money on offer for these new leagues is considerable: $12,400,000 for the NEL; and $7,000,000 for the MLSJ. These leagues both feature eight professional teams, which compete at various venues across North America. They are both classified as 5* show jumping events and are seemingly looking to mirror the structure of established American major professional sports leagues.

The rivalry between the MLSJ and proposed NEL progressed to the US courts and the tribunal for the FEI, and this article sets out the background to the legal challenges and various issues under consideration.

The Low-Down on FIFA’s New Player Loan Regulations

By Katie Smith on February 2, 2022 Posted in European Sport, FIFA, Football, Governance, Player contracts, Rules and regulations, Transfers, Uncategorized

Big money permanent transfers are usually the headline grabbers but there have been some significant loan moves this window… Tanguy Ndombele from Tottenham to Lyon, Adama Traoré from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Barcelona, Antony Martial from Manchester United to Sevilla, and Aaron Ramsey from Juventus to Rangers, to name just a few of the international loan deals to feature this January.

During the next transfer window, clubs must pay heed to a new regulatory framework when negotiating such loan moves. FIFA has announced that its new regulations on player loans are ready for implementation, with the stated aims to develop young players and promote competitive balance. Whether the perceived problems with the current system are fair or not, there will be significant changes to the current regulation of international loans. Although domestic loans are outside of the new regulatory framework, implications are on the horizon as member associations will have until 2025 to ensure their own rules on loans are in line with FIFA’s principles.

The new framework has been in the stocks for several years as one part of the larger FIFA transfer system reform packages developed and endorsed by the Football Stakeholders Committee (“FSC”). In 2020, FIFA postponed the anticipated introduction of the new rules due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, following fresh endorsement by the FSC and subject to the final approval of the FIFA Council, the regulations are set to enter into force on 1 July 2022. Continue Reading

What’s next for European sports governance and how will it address its current challenges?

By Andrew Bennett on January 21, 2022 Posted in European Sport, European Union, Governance, Government, Politics in Sport, Rules and regulations, Sports Policy, Uncategorized

Sports governance became a hot topic within Europe in 2021, particularly in light of the proposed establishment of new competitions, particular football club takeovers, and financial fair play matters, as well as the challenges posed by the Covid 19 pandemic to sport’s sustainability.

The ‘specificity of sport’ was recognised by the amended Treaty of the European Union, which came into force in 2009[1] (although it had been initiated through certain rulings of the European Court of Justice and the decisional practice of the European Commission for some time prior to that).

However, in late 2021, a resolution of the Council of the European Union on a European Sport Model (the “Resolution“) was adopted which calls for EU institutions to take a more substantive role in supporting the sport sector for the next decade and to set out what it considers to be the fundamental features of European sports policy. The Resolution follows the European Parliament overwhelmingly supporting a report on EU Sports Policy (the “Report“).

The Report recognises, amongst other things, the “unique power of sport to promote positive change and transmit values across borders” and its emergence as an “increasingly important economic phenomenon… [which] generates an added value of EUR 279.7 billion of the [European] Union’s GDP”.

This blog post focuses on summarising the key findings and recommendations from the Report.

Andre Onana and UEFA’s Anti-Doping Regulations – A Cautionary Tale

By Luke Carney and Thomas Horton on November 17, 2021 Posted in Anti-doping, CAS, Case review, Champions League, Football, Law, Litigation, Rules and regulations, UEFA

Introduction

Andre Onana, the first team goalkeeper for AFC Ajax (“Ajax”) and the Cameroon national team played his first competitive match for over nine 9 months on 13 November 2021, when he started for Cameroon in a 4:0 victory over Malawi in a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 African Qualifier.

Prior to this match, Onana had been subject to a 9-month suspenion from all football-related activity for violating anti-doping regulations. Due to the nature of the suspension, Onana was only permitted to return to first-team training in September 2021 and in fact only resumed first-team training of any kind on 28 October 2021, when he joined up with the Ajax senior side, following a short spell training with the Ajax U21s.

NHL Expansion Draft: An Opportunity for Rapid Competitiveness?

By Nicholas Zalany on August 10, 2021 Posted in Ice Hockey

On July 21, 2021, the Seattle Kraken, the newest franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL), stocked its roster through what is known as an expansion draft. The consensus seems to be that the Kraken used the draft to select a solid, if not star, roster whilst leaving flexibility to sign higher profile free agents before the start of the season. All eyes will now be on the Kraken’s debut against the Golden Knights in Las Vegas on October 12th.

In this article, we examine the background and rules to the expansion draft, as well as well as the rationale for these rules and their potential impact on the fortunes of new franchises.

Supreme Court Finds For NCAA Student-Athletes on Antitrust Issues

By Squire Patton Boggs on June 30, 2021 Posted in Amateur Sport, American Football

NCAA student athletes are entitled to education-related benefits, such as paid post-graduate internships, scholarships for graduate school, tutors, laptops, science equipment, musical instruments, and annual awards for academic achievement up to $5,980. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion for the unanimous Supreme Court ruling, holding that the now-former NCAA prohibition for such things violated antitrust laws.

NCAA v. Alston began seven years ago as a class action against the NCAA brought by Shawn Alston and Justine Hartman as representatives for a class of former men’s and women’s college football and basketball players. They alleged that the NCAA’s limitation on the types and amounts of compensation student-athletes can receive violates Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act which prohibits the unreasonable restriction on competition among the states. The District Court and Ninth Circuit both resolved that there was an antitrust violation when applying the applicable “rule of reason” test and the Supreme Court did not depart from those decisions.