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Headline Soccer Sports Business

How to Mend a Client’s Bad Reputation

In the wake of the recent controversy over the France national team’s qualification to FIFA’s 2010 football World Cup in South Africa, I thought it might be a good idea to address the issue of how to mend a client’s reputation where an incident has tarnished it. Earlier this month, France won a World Cup […]

Categories
Performance Analysis

Drugs and Sport – Why It’s Not Worth It

Whether it is a performance-enhancing drug or recreational drug, doping in sport is frowned upon and dealt with very seriously. One of my former tutors at King’s College, Jonathan Taylor, was one of the lawyers at the tribunal for Martina Hingis’ trial. She had tested positive for cocaine and the subsequent ban that resulted effectively […]

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Soccer Sports Business

The Real World Of Soccer

Real Madrid Summer Purchases Ronaldo – £80 million Kaka – £56 million Benzema – £30 million Albiol – £12 million Manchester City Summer Purchases Santa-Cruz – £18 million Tevez- £25 million Adebayor – £25 million Barry – £12 million These are the transfers that have knocked the wind out of the summer transfer window in […]

Categories
Soccer Sports Law

Can the Saints be Saved?

Those who know me will be aware that I am an avid supporter of Arsenal FC. However I cannot help but feel a little disturbed by the goings on at Southampton FC. Being a graduate of the University of Southampton, there is a little place in my heart for the 2003 FA Cup Finalists. It […]

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Soccer

Match-Fixing Rears Its Ugly Head Again in Soccer

Less than three years after the 2006 Italian match-fixing scandal, UEFA has charged a Macedonian club with “manipulating the outcome of a UEFA match to gain undue advantage for themselves and a third party”. The charge dates back to a Champions League qualifying match in 2004 between alleged match-fixers FK Pobeda and FC Pyunik of […]

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Soccer Sports Law

Blatter’s ‘6+5’ rule is not illegal…?

In November 2007 I wrote my first article for Sports Agent Blog (Blatter Seeks New Rules Regarding ‘Home-Grown’ Players). I shared my opinion on whether any ‘nationality restrictions’ in European soccer would be legal under European Union law. My conclusion was that such restrictions would most certainly be illegal. Fifteen months on, and it would […]

Categories
MLB Players Sports Law

Whose ball is it?

‘It’s not a catch if you drop the ball’ Have you ever wondered who owns the baseball caught by a member of the crowd after a player scores a home-run? The ball heads for the stand, a mêlée ensues, and eventually one lucky person gets his hands on the ball before taking it home and […]

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Soccer Sports Business

Broadcasting – Listed Sporting Events

In the UK, ‘listed sporting events‘ are those that must be made available for the general public to view on terrestrial television free of charge. Rival broadcasters can compete with one another for the right to broadcast the event on their channel (the rights will generally go to the highest bidder), but ultimately the events […]

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Corporate Sponsors Soccer Sports Business

Do Exclusive Sponsors and Marketers of Sporting Events Get Value for Money?

Definitions of the word ‘exclusive’ include ‘sole’, ‘complete’, ‘undivided’, ‘full’, ‘inimitable’ and ‘absolute’. Inherent in the meaning of ‘exclusive sponsorship’ is an (official) association with a sporting event, by an organization, at the exclusion of other organizations. Organizations that wish to obtain such affiliation with sporting events generally have to pay a lot of money […]

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Contract Negotiation Soccer Sports Business Sports Law

Player Contracts in Soccer – A Waste of time?

In recent years, there has been a progressive increase in the number of footballers failing to honor their contracts. In soccer, most players are signed to 3, 4 or 5 year contracts. The sad truth is that many supporters of soccer know that this is meaningless today. The evidence shows that a contract provides little […]