The cloud of Covid-19 (which loomed so large over Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022) has thankfully dissipated, but the lead up to the 2024 Olympiad in Paris (the “Paris Games”) has nevertheless been punctuated by logistical and legal challenges. Hosting the world’s largest multi-sport international event – attended by thousands of participants, support personnel, officials, … Continue Reading
A recent award handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport has found in favour of World Athletics in its dispute with the US Paralympian 400m sprinter, Blake Leeper, concerning the athlete’s eligibility to run against able-bodied athletes in World Athletics Series competitions as well as next year’s Tokyo Olympics.… Continue Reading
In June and July, Sports Shorts considered whether the law has any business punishing athletes for violent offences committed in the course of sport. This article asks the inverse: should sports teams and governing bodies wield any power to penalise athletes for their actions outside of sport – can this ever be justified and are … Continue Reading
It is a stark choice but one that is faced by an increasing number of professional rugby union players around the world. Many of the top rugby nations have adopted explicit rules around the selection of players based abroad for the national team and others utilise similar, albeit unwritten, “guidelines” in order to maintain the … Continue Reading
Ahead of the start of the third test between England and South Africa on Thursday, many a column inch has been devoted to the apparent fragility of England’s batting line-up and discussion has inevitably turned to whether personnel changes are necessary. In particular, questions have been asked about whether England should persevere with 25 year-old … Continue Reading
It has been a busy few days in the world of Rugby Union. On 10 May 2017, the draw for the pool stage of the 2019 World Cup in Japan was confirmed during a ceremony in Kyoto, with England once again finding themselves placed in the dreaded “pool of death”, along with France and Argentina. … Continue Reading
Joel Matip was left out of Liverpool FC’s squad for the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday afternoon following confusion as to his status with the Cameroon national team. Although Matip was not selected for Cameroon’s final 23-man squad for the African Cup of Nations, and purportedly retired from international duty after his last … Continue Reading
The time of year where football managers most readily lament fixture congestion is again upon us. The 2016/2017 Premier League season saw 40 Premier League games over the festive period, with each club playing four fixtures between Saturday 17 December 2016 and Wednesday 4 January 2017. Those fixtures were played on twelve separate match-days, with … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Crystal Palace winger and England international Wilfried Zaha had submitted a request to FIFA to “swap” his international allegiance from England to the Ivory Coast. However, if you rewind just 4 years, such a request would have seemed extremely unlikely. With his star very much in the ascendant, … Continue Reading
This time last year, rugby union was building up to the crowning match of its showpiece, the World Cup Final. It was not a surprise to see the All Blacks win for a third time. Given the retirements of half a dozen greats, including Richie McCaw and Dan Carter, it would have been harsh of … Continue Reading
The line between winning and losing is often thin. Throughout the history of sport, sportsmen and women have consistently demonstrated that they will go to remarkable lengths to gain any advantage they can, no matter how marginal. For this reason, sports governing bodies implement rules and regulations. The purpose of these is to set out … Continue Reading
On Monday 5 September 2016, the Kosovo national football team played its first competitive international match, drawing 1 – 1 with Finland in a World Cup qualifier. Valon Berisha, who plays his club football for Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga, was the scorer of Kosovo’s first ever goal in a competitive international football … Continue Reading
