Sport and the Law, Second Edition documents the interaction between law and sport. In recent years there has been an increased involvement of the law as it applies sport. The professionalisation and commercialisation of sport has brought with it a number of legal issues, from disputes arising from a contacts or sponsorship deals; or doping allegations; or injuries sustained on the sports field.
The traditional approach to sports governing bodies has been to view them as autonomous and private associations and thus immune from the intervention of the law. This view does not reflect the reality. Sport is an industry which accounts for around three percent of the European Union’s (EU) Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By defining sports’ governing bodies as private entities, irrespective of whether they are local, national or international, ‘non-profit’ or ‘non-governmental organisations’ has facilitated them in operating, to a large extent, with impunity. There have been a number of recent scandals at international level including the state-sponsored doping of Russian athletes and the indictment of a number of FIFA officials on charges of racketeering and money-laundering. These scandals have highlighted the importance of good governance and as a corollary the need for public confidence to be restored. The law has a role to play, however, the extent of its involvement has been the subject of academic discourse.
Sport and the Law, Second Edition identifies the main legal concepts and draws on case law and legislation from Ireland and adopts a comparative methodology as it examines other jurisdictions including England and Wales, Canada and Australian. It covers topics including:
- Sports governance at domestic and international level;
- Sports law or sport and the law, the extent to which the law should involve itself in sporting matters, sources of law and the definition of a sport and the emergence of ESports;
- Violence in sport and the application of the criminal law with a focus on football, rugby, the GAA, boxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA);
- Civil liability and sport and its application to participants, referees, coaches and instructors;
- Drugs in Sport: the Irish Sport Anti-doping rules and decisions of the Irish Sport Anti Doping Disciplinary Panel, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), methods of doping including and mechanical/technological doping, the human rights aspects of doping including the right to privacy and the right to a fair trial;
- Eligibility issues: athletes with differences of sex development, gender testing and transgender athletes;
- Commercial issues and sport: athletes as employees and independent contractors, contract law and its application to sports persons, the role of sponsorship, broadcasting rights, image rights, merchandising and the law of agency;
- Judicial review and sporting bodies;
- Alternative Dispute Resolution: The Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA), Just Sport Ireland (JSI), and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS);
- The impact of the European Union (EU) on sport: the free movement of sports persons, and the role of EU competition law, the ‘specificity of sport’ and situations where the EU courts and the European Commission do not get involved namely in matters that are of ‘purely sporting interest’;
- Child protection and sport: legislative and non-legislative provisions;
- Judicial review and sporting bodies;
- Animals in Sport: the current regulation of animal sports in Ireland and other jurisdictions including fox hunting, horseracing, equestrianism, and greyhound racing,
- Animal welfare issues, namely jumps’ racing and the use of the whip and national and international equine anti-doping policies.
