Rules and regulations

Subscribe to Rules and regulations RSS Feed

Cheating in esports: Lessons to learn from the Formula E Racing at Home Challenge

As Sports Shorts reported last month, many ‘traditional’ sports have turned to esports during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to maintain engagement with fans while their own competitions have been cancelled or postponed. However, esports can be vulnerable to scandal in much the same way as regular sports. In this blog, we will look at … Continue Reading

The NFL Approves New Measures To The “Rooney Rule”

The NFL recently introduced new measures to expand what is colloquially known as the “Rooney Rule,” which was instituted to promote and encourage diversity hiring. Named after the late Dan Rooney – former owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and chairperson of the National Football League’s (“NFL”) diversity committee – the Rooney Rule is a NFL … Continue Reading

FIFA issues guidelines on dealing with COVID-19 related regulatory issues

On Tuesday, FIFA published a set of guidelines to address some of the practical issues that have arisen as a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis. The key areas of focus were: (1) expiring agreements; (2) frustrated agreements; and (3) registration periods. A number of other issues were also considered in brief.   It is important … Continue Reading

Saracens’ relegation and the knock-on effects

Saracens scraped through into the quarter-finals of European rugby’s Champions Cup after a win over Racing 92 this weekend.  However, even if the three-time European Champions were to retain their crown, the club will not be competing in the competition next season.  This is because, after reaching agreement with the governing body of Premiership Rugby, … Continue Reading

Questions Raised Over Marketing Restrictions on Olympic Athletes

It has been reported that the European Commission met with officials from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in November to discuss rules that restrict athletes’ marketing activities during a ‘blackout’ period around the Olympic Games. The meeting follows a recent ruling in Germany, which found that certain IOC restrictions breached antitrust rules and unlawfully limited … Continue Reading

A slam-dunk? Sweeping and dramatic changes may be coming to the NBA

Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe dropped, what is known as a Woj Bomb, last week as they announced that the NBA is in high level discussions with the NBPA (the National Basketball Players Association) and broadcasting partners concerning “sweeping and dramatic changes to the league calendar that include a reseeding of the four conference finalists, … Continue Reading

Football, gambling and advertising: The opposite of a young man’s game

Gambling and football – two words that go hand-in-hand for a lot of football fans. For many punters, having a flutter on a match-day is an essential part of their footballing experience. Betting companies looking to attract customers spend significant sums on advertising, but it can be difficult to get things right, especially when it … Continue Reading

Discrimination in football: Will rule changes help to kick it out?

A report from Kick It Out, the anti-discrimination charity, found that reports of racism in English football rose by 43% last season, from 192 instances to 274. Meanwhile, reports of faith-based discrimination rose by 75% from 36 instances to 63. It is the seventh consecutive year that reported incidents of discrimination in football have increased. … Continue Reading

Caster Semenya & ASA vs the IAAF – what it means for women and sport

On 1 May 2019, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) delivered its ruling in the requests for arbitration by Caster Semenya and Athletics South Africa (“ASA”) against the International Association of Athletics Federation (the “IAAF”). CAS dismissed the requests, upholding the validity of the new IAAF Eligibility Regulations for Female Classification (Athletes with Differences … Continue Reading

The NBA’s best current rivalry: Rockets v Warriors or Rockets v Referees?

Last year’s dramatic Western Conference final match-up between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets ended with the Warriors winning 4-3. The Warriors advanced to the NBA Finals and achieved their second consecutive NBA Championship. This year, they look to do the three-peat. The Rockets have a chance for revenge this year, facing the Warriors … Continue Reading

Formula 2021 – A new vision for Formula 1

At the last race weekend in Bahrain, Charles Leclerc became the second-youngest pole-sitter in Formula 1 history in just his second race with Ferrari. A few days’ prior in London, another rookie (at least, in his current role) was delivering what could be an historical change in the future of the sport: Ross Brawn’s vision … Continue Reading

Racism in football – the ongoing battle to ‘Kick It Out’

UEFA has announced that it has commenced disciplinary proceedings against Montenegro after English players were on the receiving end of racist chants from spectators in Montenegro. England players, including Raheem Sterling who scored the final goal in England’s 5-1 victory, were subjected to racist abuse from the stands. Gareth Southgate firmly rebuked such conduct from … Continue Reading

VAR Reaching Consequences? The £9.2 Million Refereeing Decision and Changes to the Laws of the Beautiful Game

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

Not illegal, not specified, not described, not restrained – Leeds United, utmost good faith and the EFL Regulations

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

“Football’s Coming Home”…but to which country? FIFA’s National Team Eligibility Rules Explained

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

FINA changes its stance after World Champion swimmers’ antitrust claims throw it into the deep end

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

Raheem Sterling’s Penalty: If the referee knew, could he have overturned it?

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
LexBlog