A clip of Australian A-League referee, Jarred Gillett, went viral last week for all of the right reasons. The Australian referee was in charge of officiating an A-League fixture between Western Sydney and Brisbane Roar and agreed to wear a microphone throughout the 90 minutes as part of an experiment.… Continue Reading
Football and blockchain: It may not be the most obvious of pairings, but stakeholders in the football world are beginning to dip their toes in the water, when it comes to using blockchain technology in their commercial operations. Readers of Sports Shorts may have fond memories of schooldays spent collecting trading cards or stickers depicting … Continue Reading
World Rugby intends to tinker with the international fixture list by creating a Nations Championship competition, as confirmed in their recent statement. The launch is rumoured to be planned for early next year, however this latest proposal might be kicked into touch quicker than an Englishman can bring up Jonny Wilkinson’s left boot to an … Continue Reading
Refereeing decisions are frequently the subject of debate in the world of football; these decisions generate such interest because they can often be interpreted in different ways. This is one factor, which contributes to the game’s unpredictability. A prime example of this occurred last night. During Manchester United’s last 16 Champions League match against PSG, … Continue Reading
On 18 February, the English Football League (“EFL”) handed Leeds United a sizeable fine of £200,000 as well as issuing a formal reprimand and warning for sending staff to ‘spy’ on opposition training before matches. This was an initiative instigated by the Head Coach, Marcelo Bielsa. The decision followed Bielsa’s comprehensive PowerPoint presentation in January … Continue Reading
The saga involving Spain’s public funding of certain Spanish football clubs took a new turn on 26 February 2019, as the General Court of the European Union overturned the European Commission’s (“EC”) ruling that FC Barcelona had received unlawful state aid from Spain.… Continue Reading
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was fined $25,000 before the All-Star break for “verbally abusing and confronting a game official”. Last year’s NBA champions found themselves trailing the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter of a heated matchup. Draymond Green was called for what would usually be considered a common foul, but … Continue Reading
Representing one’s country on the international stage has long been reported as the pinnacle of a footballer’s ambition. In present times, the development of international club competitions has challenged that notion. For fans of the English national representative team, the FIFA World Cup 2018 was a fantastic event, capturing mass national support for international football, … Continue Reading
On 15 January 2019, the Fédération Internationale de Natation (“FINA”), the gatekeeper for access to the Olympic Games and World Championships, announced that swimmers are now free to participate in race meetings that are organised by independent organisers (which includes those that are neither related to FINA or members of FINA) and will not be … Continue Reading
UEFA recently announced that it will be launching its own over the top (“OTT”) streaming platform within the next few months. When the provisionally named ‘UEFA TV’ goes live in time for the 2019/20 season, it will allow fans outside of Europe and North America to view Euro 2020 and future editions of the UEFA … Continue Reading
The penalty given in the early stages of the Champions League fixture between Manchester City and Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night has been hailed as amongst the “worst penalty decision[s] ever” by the BBC. Since there was no VAR and the fourth official appeared silent on the issue, the penalty stood and Gabriel Jesus put … Continue Reading
“I don’t know whether a woman would physically be able to drive an F1 car quickly, and they wouldn’t be taken seriously.” “I don’t know if they’ve got the mental aptitude to race hard, wheel-to-wheel.” Regrettably, these inflammatory comments were not made by loose-lipped pub-goers, but by former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone and International Motorsports … Continue Reading
“The richest athlete contract in sports history”. That is how ESPN described the deal between boxer Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and streaming service DAZN, which is worth a reported $365 million for 11 fights. The agreement with Canelo sits alongside a broader “exclusive” partnership between DAZN and Canelo’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, which is due to … Continue Reading
The beginning of October saw the start of the postseason in Major League Baseball and we are now at the finals stage in both the National and American League competitions. In the American League, the LA Dodgers lead the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 in the best of 7 series, whilst last night the Boston Red Sox … Continue Reading
Given its escalation all the way to the Bristol Crown Court, even the casual sports fan will have noted the media furore regarding Ben Stokes and the street brawl he engaged in last September. Although Stokes was found not guilty for the offence of affray, he has not escaped all liability for his actions just … Continue Reading
Eleven Sports, the global sports provider, has contravened UEFA rules, which prohibit live coverage of football in the UK between 14:45 and 17:15 on Saturdays by broadcasting Barcelona’s La Liga fixture against Athletic Bilbao. This period on a Saturday afternoon is commonly referred to as the football “blackout” as the UK does not broadcast any matches during … Continue Reading
Following last year’s success, Squire Patton Boggs again entered this year’s Law Society rugby 7s and Netball Tournament. The SPB netball team started the day with a strong win against Watson Farley & Williams. Some consistent shooting (in spite of the downpour of rain during play) led Squires to an 8-4 victory. The ladies, however, … Continue Reading
At the beginning of the year, Sports Shorts covered the developments between North Korea and South Korea as the countries negotiated North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang WinterOlympics. The 2018 Winter Olympics was a success; to summarise: The athletes from North and South Korea marched together under the Korean unification flag during the opening ceremony; … Continue Reading
In recent weeks, the media has reacted rather dramatically to the decision handed down by the Brussel’s Court of Appeal on 28 August 2018, in a case brought by Belgian football club RFC Seraing (Seraing). The precise impact of the decision remains to be seen although it is unlikely that this represents the fall of … Continue Reading
Sports Shorts has previously covered the idea of introducing a form of a salary cap in football after Aleksander Ceferin, the UEFA President, suggested that the greatest problem facing football is “the competitive balance between teams”. The idea of balancing competition by imposing a salary cap system is now being discussed amongst the cycling community … Continue Reading
Traditionally during the British summer months, sports other than football get to dominate the headlines through the game’s summer break. Despite recent events in Russia lengthening last year’s football season, this weekend saw a number of non-football related events take the sporting headlines: England won a thrilling test match in the first of five this … Continue Reading
On 27 June 2018, UEFA’s Adjudicatory Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body (“CFCB”) issued a decision to exclude AC Milan from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in for the next two seasons. This meant that AC Milan would be prevented from competing in the Europa League … Continue Reading
Last week Sports Shorts considered the UCI decision to close the investigation against four time Tour de France winner Chris Froome. In the wake of that decision, criticism of Froome and the decision was still present with the Team Sky rider being booed at the team presentation. Froome ultimately did not get off to the … Continue Reading
Italy’s Council of Ministers has approved a blanket ban on gambling advertising in the country, which will take effect on 1 January 2019. The Council of Ministers has the power to pass decrees with legal force in cases where Parliament has expressly delegated legislative authority to the Council. In recent years, there has been a … Continue Reading
