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By Nihal Zachariah Introduction On May 31, 2013, the Competition Commission of India (the “Commission”) passed an order in the case of Dhanraj Pillay & Ors v. M/S Hockey India (Case No. 73/2011), and cleared Hockey India (“HI”) and the International Hockey Federation (“FIH”) from allegations of...
By Abhinav Shrivastava Introduction The emergence of anti-trust concerns in relation to the operations of sports bodies correlates with the rise of the commercial aspect of professional sporting engagement. Anti-trust as a species of law is concerned with the development of a market economy and concurrent limitation or...
Times of India, Bangalore, June 19, 2013...
By Seshank Shekar Introduction On December 12, 2012, Advocate General Niilo Jääskinen delivered a non-binding opinion on the arguments put to the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in respect of a long standing dispute between the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (“FIFA”) and...
By Abhinav Shrivastava Introduction On October 18, 2012, the European Court of Justice (“Court”), through its opinion in Football Dataco v. Sportradar (Case C-173/11 of the Court of Justice of the European Union), recognised the rights of sporting bodies to control access to and limit the utilisation...
By Shwetambara Mani and Shibumi Raje Introduction The World Anti-Doping Code (the “Code”) drafted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”) is the core document that provides the framework globally for anti-doping policies, rules and regulations within sport organizations and among public authorities. The Code was first introduced...
By Roshan Gopalakrishna Introduction On 15 December, 2012, Oakley, Inc. (“Oakley”) filed a suit against golfer Rory McIlroy (“McIlroy”) and competitor Nike Inc. (“Nike”) in a federal court at Santa Ana, California. Oakley’s claim is that McIlroy breached the endorsement agreement signed between them, more particularly the...
By Shibumi Raje 1. ICC Development (International) Ltd and Anr v. New Delhi Television Ltd. Introduction In September 2012, the High Court of Delhi delivered a judgment in the suit filed by ICC (Development) International Ltd (“IDI”) and ESPN (Mauritius) Ltd (“ESPN”), (hereinafter collectively referred to as the...
By Shewambara Mani Introduction The United States of America (“US”) is one of the most sought after destinations for athletes, entertainers, performers and artists. From college leagues to professional teams, the platform offered to a sportsman in terms of education, training and performance in the US is...
By Seshank Shekar Introduction It has become a fairly regular and widely accepted practice among many high profile athletes to incorporate separate legal entities. These legal entities are usually in the form of ‘loan out’ corporations wholly owned by the athlete. Typically the athlete then becomes an...
By Abhinava Shrivastava Introduction On November 8, 2012, the Andhra Pradesh High Court (“Court”) overturned the life-ban handed out to former Indian cricket captain, Mohammad Azharuddin (“Azharuddin”) by the Disciplinary Committee (“Committee”) of Board of Control for Cricket in India (“BCCI”) in 2000 for his alleged engagement...
By Roshan Gopalakrishna Case reviews: Football Association Premier League v. QC Leisure and Others (Case C-403/08); Karen Murphy v. Media Protection Services Ltd (Case C-429/98) Introduction On October 4, 2011, the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘ECJ’) held that licences for the broadcast of football matches...
By Abhinava Shrivastava Introduction The Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games are meant to serve as a cohesive platform where athletes from diverse backgrounds from across the world exhibit their sporting calibre. The mandate of the Olympic Movement is inclusive, and actively encourages the participation and representation...
By Shwethambara Mani and Shibumi Raje Introduction Children and sport speak the universal language of fun, friendship, discipline and achievement. Sport significantly contributes to a child’s mental, social and physical skills by building tolerance, discipline, focus and respect. While childhood is often a precious period for building...
By Seshank Shekar Introduction The controversy concerning racism in English professional football over the past year came to a conclusion earlier this month, as the English Football Association (“FA”) sanctioned Chelsea Football Club (“Chelsea”) captain John Terry over alleged racist comments made to Queens Park Rangers (“QPR”)...
By Roshan Gopalakrishna Introduction Celebrities are often the top choice for advertisers, sponsors and companies when it comes to brand or product endorsement for a variety of reasons. (This newsletter has previously discussed in detail the broad features of a celebrity endorsement agreement and the use of a celebrity’s...
By Shibumi Raje Introduction In recent times, the issue of spectator violence in sporting events has come to the forefront, leading to the furore over crowd management and crowd safety. There have been multiple instances of harm being caused to spectators at major sporting arenas, the notable...
By Shwethambara Mani Introduction In July 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) held Comcast Cable Communications, LLC (“Comcast”), the largest multi-channel video-programming distributor (“MVPD”) in the United States, liable for carriage discrimination against Tennis Channel. The Commission held that Comcast had given preferential treatment to its affiliates,...
By Seshank Shekar Introduction In June 2012, the New York Federal District Court convicted poker club owner Lawrence DiCristina on charges of operating and conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business in violation of the U.S. Federal legislation The Illegal Gambling Business Act, 1970 (“IGBA”). DiCristina (The...
By Abhinav Shrivastav Introduction The Hillsborough Stadium crush of 1989 (“Hillsborough Crush”) is a key moment in the history of sports arena construction and crowd management, as it led to the removal of standing terraces in all first division and second division football club stadiums and adoption...