Caster Semenya testosterone verdict ignites debate about fairness, women’s sport and human rights – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 2nd, 2019 in equality, gender, human rights, medicines, news, sex discrimination, sport, women by tracey

‘Caster Semenya’s enforced use of testosterone-limiting drugs is a potential human rights breach, legal experts claimed on Wednesday as they drew comparisons with the innate physical advantages of other world-dominating athletes.’

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Daily Telegraph, 1st May 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Alex Hepburn: Cricketer jailed for five years for rape of woman – BBC News

Posted May 1st, 2019 in news, rape, sentencing, sexual offences, sport by tracey

‘A “foul sexist” cricketer has been jailed for raping a sleeping woman.’

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BBC News, 30th April 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Chelsea launch legal campaign to crack down on ticket touts at Stamford Bridge – The Guardian

Posted April 16th, 2019 in injunctions, licensing, news, sport by tracey

‘Chelsea have launched a groundbreaking legal campaign to stamp out ticket touting, the Guardian can reveal, in a move expected to herald a wider crackdown by Premier League football clubs.’

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The Guardian, 15th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘What do people want?’: Hillsborough safety officer is first to be found guilty – The Guardian

‘The conviction of Graham Mackrell, the Sheffield Wednesday club secretary and safety officer for its Hillsborough ground on 15 April 1989, is the first criminal or disciplinary finding against anybody in relation to the deaths of 96 people at the FA Cup semi-final that day between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.’

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The Guardian, 3rdApril 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Gym Use and Changing Rooms: the illegality and chilling effect of (trans)gender segregation – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted March 28th, 2019 in gender, news, sport, transgender persons by sally

‘A recent, high-profile article published on HuffPost claimed that the popular leisure group – David Lloyd Leisure – had decided to exclude all trans persons from their preferred gender segregated facilities unless they could produce a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). Given that only 4,500 GRCs have been issued (and that GRCs are not available to trans minors), this policy potentially prohibited the overwhelming majority of trans persons from using DLL services. The group has since denied any change in its policy and insisted it welcomes trans customers. Yet, the incident raises an important question for human rights lawyers (particularly at this transformative moment for trans rights in the UK): can a blanket exclusion on trans individuals accessing preferred segregated spaces comply with domestic equality laws?’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 28th March 2019

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

How Does UK Human Rights Law Protect Football Players Like Raheem Sterling And Danny Rose From Racial Abuse? – Rights Info

Posted March 27th, 2019 in disciplinary procedures, fines, hate crime, human rights, news, racism, sport by sally

‘The England football team put on a striking performance during the Euro 2020 qualifier match against Montenegro in Podgorica on Monday.’

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Rights Info, 26th March 2019

Source: rightsinfo.org

Barry Bennell expenses claim raises questions about Crewe’s legal defence – The Guardian

Posted March 21st, 2019 in child abuse, children, damages, documents, evidence, expenses, news, sexual offences, sport, victims by tracey

‘Here is the expenses claim from Barry Bennell that raises significant questions about the defence put forward by Crewe Alexandra’s lawyers to fight the high court claims lodged by victims of the paedophile coach. It shows Bennell claimed £5 per boy to accommodate them at his house during the years when he used his position as Crewe’s youth-team coach to feed what prosecutors have described as his “almost insatiable appetite for young boys”.’

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The Guardian, 20th March 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sheffield United’s Sophie Jones quits football after being found guilty of racial abuse, labels FA hearing a ‘kangaroo court’ – The Independent

Posted March 21st, 2019 in evidence, fines, news, racism, sport, witnesses by tracey

‘Sheffield United’s Sophie Jones has claimed she will quit football after being found guilty of racially abusing Renee Hector by the FA. Jones labelled the FA’s hearing as a “kangaroo court” and says she can no longer play under a governing body who she “does not have any confidence in”. The FA reached a guilty verdict on Wednesday after Jones was alleged to have made monkey noises at Tottenham’s Renee Hector on 6 January in the Women’s Championship, with the 27-year-old receiving a five-match ban and being fined £200. Jones was subsequently sacked by Sheffield United.’

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The Independent, 20th March 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Fleetwood Wanderers Limited v AFC Fylde Limited: a cautionary tale for arbitrators in sports law disputes – Blackstone Chambers

Posted March 15th, 2019 in arbitration, contract of employment, news, sport by sally

‘In Fleetwood Wanderers Limited (t/a Fleetwood Town Football Club) v AFC Fylde Limited [2018] EWHC 3318 (Comm), the High Court upheld a challenge to an arbitral award on the grounds of serious irregularity under section 68(2)(a) of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996). The Arbitrator had failed to inform the parties that, following the hearing, he had been in communication with The Football Association (The FA) as to the scope and content of its rules, and had in turn failed to provide either party with the opportunity to make representations on the issues raised in that correspondence.’

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Blackstone Chambers, 5th March 2019

Source: www.sportslawbulletin.org

Excessive punishment for sarcastic applause? Zaha v The FA – Blackstone Chambers

Posted March 14th, 2019 in appeals, disciplinary procedures, fines, news, penalties, sport by sally

‘Crystal Palace FC’s Wilfried Zaha is one of the fastest players in the Premier League. He is also one of the most fouled. After a number of serious challenges in a match at Southampton at the end of January, Zaha was booked for his reaction to a player who had just pushed him over the touchline. He sarcastically applauded the referee in response to the yellow card, which was then followed immediately with a second yellow and therefore a red. As he left the field, Zaha sarcastically applauded the referee again, on more than one occasion, and did so “theatrically” according to the Football Association (FA). This led to him being charged with misconduct outside the jurisdiction of the match referee.’

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Blackstone Chambers, 28th February 2019

Source: www.sportslawbulletin.org

Former football coach jailed for offences against young boys – Crown Prosecution Service

‘A former youth football coach has been jailed for 13-and-a-half years for sexual offences against two young boys. He was also issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 15 years.’

Full press release

Crown Prosecution Service, 6th March 2019

Abuse survivor taking Crewe Alexandra to court – BBC News

‘Ex-Crewe Alexandra player Steve Walters is taking the club to court after he says they told him he had waited too long to report sex abuse by paedophile coach Barry Bennell.’

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BBC News, 28th February 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Roma hooligan who attacked Liverpool fan Sean Cox jailed for three-and-a-half years – Daily Telegraph

‘A balaclava-clad Italian hooligan who “destroyed” the life of a Liverpool supporter and his family in a “brutal and vicious” attack ahead of a Champions League tie has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.’

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Daily Telegraph, 28th February 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Revealed: the evidence Crewe supplied on Barry Bennell scandal – The Guardian

Posted February 26th, 2019 in child abuse, evidence, news, sexual grooming, sexual offences, sport by tracey

‘Evidence supplied by Dario Gradi related to the Barry Bennell scandal can be revealed by the Guardian and includes an admission that he encouraged the culture at Crewe Alexandra for coaches to invite boys to stay overnight, or even take them on holidays abroad, and that he did not make detailed background checks on the man who has been described as one of the most persistent paedophiles in British criminal history.’

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The Guardian, 25th February 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Oystons ousted as high court brings in the receiver at Blackpool – The Guardian

Posted February 14th, 2019 in insolvency, news, receivers, sport by sally

‘Blackpool have been put into receivership so the club can be sold and the proceeds used to pay off some of the £22m owed by their owners, the Oyston family, to the Latvian banker Valeri Belokon, a court has ordered.’

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The Guardian, 13th February 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Medical tribunal into Dr Richard Freeman case in danger of not being completed this year – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 12th, 2019 in doctors, drug abuse, limitations, news, sport, tribunals by tracey

‘Dr Richard Freeman’s medical tribunal is in serious danger of not being completed this year, Telegraph Sport understands. It raises the possibility that evidence arising from the hearing might fall outside the statute of limitations for UK Anti-Doping to act upon. Or that Team Sky might be sold or quit the sport before the case is heard.’

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Daily Telegraph, 11th February 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Howard Grossman: Northampton Town ‘missing millions’ developer banned – BBC News

Posted February 5th, 2019 in accounts, company directors, fiduciary duty, insolvency, loans, news, sport by tracey

‘A property developer has been banned from running companies for 10 years after failing to provide accounting records to explain more than £5m missing from a football club loan.’

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BBC News, 5th February 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Sports coach sexual relations law criticised over delay – BBC News

‘A proposed law to make it illegal for sports coaches to have sexual relations with 16 and 17-year-olds in their care has been “bogged down in bureaucracy”, an ex-sports minister has said.’

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BBC News, 28th January 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Jess Varnish loses employment tribunal against British Cycling and UK Sport – The Guardian

‘Jess Varnish, the former Great Britain track cyclist, has lost her landmark employment case against British Cycling and UK Sport which had threatened to overhaul funding for Olympic athletes.’

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The Guardian, 16th January 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Hillsborough disaster: David Duckenfield’s trial due to begin – BBC News

‘The manslaughter trial of the police officer in command during the Hillsborough disaster will begin later.’

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BBC News, 14th January 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk