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““I think sports gave me the first place where this awkward girl could feel comfortable in my own skin. I think that’s true for a lot of women—sports gives you a part of your life where you can work at something and you look in the mirror and you like that person.”
- Teri McKeever
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ARUN JAITLEY’S BUDGET : SPORTS GETS MARGINAL RAISE
The allocation for the Sports Ministry got a marginal hike of Rs. 50.87
crore from last year in the union budget for 2016-17 was presented by
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Parliament. Jaitley allocated Rs.
1400 crore as plan outlay to sports, while Rs 192 crore was set aside for
non-plan, taking the total to Rs. 1592 crore. Last year the total allocation
was Rs. 1541.13 crore. The plan outlay has been increased to
approximately Rs. 10.82 crore as compared to the previous year, while
the non-plan outlay has been hiked by Rs. 40.15 crore. The allocation for
the scheme for the Benefit of North Eastern Area, has been revised to Rs.
144.98 crore this year as compared to Rs. 150.23 crore last year. The
Sports Authority, entrusted with the task of organising national camps,
has been granted a total of Rs. 381.30 crore this year, which is a hike of
Rs. 11.91 crore. However, assistance to sports institutions has been kept
at Rs. 545.90 crore. Under youth affairs, the National Service Scheme
has been allocated Rs. 215.70 crore. Rs. 12 crore has been allocated for
anti-doping activities, which is the same as last year.
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TEAM PLAWYERED
Editorial Board
.
.
Authors
Gaurav Misra , Publishing Editor , Plawyered
He is currently pursuing B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from Chanakya
National Law University, Patna. A voracious reader and an
ardent Arsenal supporter, Plawyered is his way of bringing
his love for law and sports on one single platform.
Tejaswini Ranjan, Managing Editor, Plawyered
She is currently pursuing B.A. LL.B. from Chanakya National
Law University, Patna. She is a sports enthusiast and a big fan
of cricket. It is her love for sports that made her come up with
this portal. Apart from this, she also holds the experience of
working with several legal portals and research journals.
Avi Dhirendra is a 4th year student of National Law University,
Odisha and has keen interest in Intellectual Property Rights Laws
along with Criminal laws. He is also interested in sports law and
has been publishing articles related to the same.
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*The views expressed in the articles are solely the views of the respective
authors.
**The copyright of the magazine vests with www.plawyered.com . All
communications are to be made at [email protected].
Gurjot Singh Khurana is a 4th year student of B.A.LL.B.
(Hons.) in University Institute of Laws, Panjab University,
Ludhiana. He has been a part of research team of Mindbatteries-
an online startup. Apart from being an activist, he is also a
member of Rotaract Chandigarh, youth wing of Rotary
International.
Sabah Khan is a 4th year student of National Law University,
Odisha and has a prominent interest in the Intellectual Property
Rights Laws along with Corporate Laws. She has presented various
papers on different subject in various seminars and conferences.
Venkat siddharth is currently pursuing law at Chanakya
National Law University. He garners love for all kinds of
sports especially tennis, football and formula1. He is a
tennis player having won a number of titles at the all India
level. He has also successfully represented the university in
tennis and football in various competitions.
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#1 MARIA SHARAPOVA: MELDONIUM
DOPING SCANDAL
VENKAT SIDDHARTH
Image courtesy :www.espn.go.com
Maria Sharapova burst onto the tennis
scene as a 17 year old in 2004,
defeating Serena Williams, the then
defending champion to lift the
Wimbledon trophy. From then on she
has added a further 4 grand slams to
her trophy cabinet and reached the
pinnacle of the WTA (Women’s Tennis
Association) Rankings. According to
Forbes, she is also the highest paid
female athlete in the world.
Sharapova’s tennis is again a topic of
discussion, but not for her blistering
groundstrokes or her deafening high
pitched grunts but for failing a doping
test. On March 7 Sharapova called in
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press conference to admit that she had
failed a doping test for the use of
‘meldonium’ which has been recently
banned by the WADA (World Anti
Doping Agency). She further stated
that she had been using this drug as
prescribed by her family doctor for the
treatment of magnesium deficiency,
indications of diabetes and cardiac
conditions. The former world no 1
claims it to be a mistake on her part
and has taken full responsibility of the
situation. Sharapova has been using
the drug since 2006 and the drug has
only been banned since 1st January
2016.
Before we delve more into this matter,
we should know what meldonium is
and what effects can it have. Also
known as Mildronate, it was developed
in Latvia and was approved in the early
2000s for the treatment of heart
related diseases. It is also considered
beneficial for people suffering with
diabetes. On the other hand it can also
have a positive effect on the endurance
of an athlete. The drug is capable of
moving oxygen faster into the muscles
which helps the stamina of an athlete.
It can easily aid a quicker recovery
after an effort and can also have a
positive effect on the endurance of an
athlete. The website of the drug’s
Latvian manufacturer Grindeks says
meldonium gives sufferers of heart and
circulatory conditions more “physical
capacity and mental function” — and a
similar boost to healthy people. It is to
be noted that the drug is not illegal in
itself. It is not licensed in the United
Kingdom thus it cannot be legally sold
there, but it can be imported from
abroad for personal use without any
violation of the law. Considering the
safety of the drug, there are no tests
which show any signs of any serious
side effects. However, headache and
agitation are a possibility along with a
very rare side effect of skin irritation.
Also to be noted is that meldonium or
mildronate is a commonly used drug.
According to WADAs testing results
from its centre in Cologne last year,
2.2% of the total samples tested
positive for the drug. The 2.2% is a
huge proportioned in doping tests
where overall positive tests account for
only 2% which consisted of all other
banned substances. The drug is very
commonly used in Russia. So much so
that it has been enlisted as an essential
drug and is entitled to a price cap.
Meldonium has been banned recently.
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The WADA monitored the effects and
use of the drug and decided to ban it.
The decision was announced in
September 2015 and ban took effect
from 1st January 2016.
Coming back to the current event, the
whole thing started when Sharapova,
subsequent to her loss to Serena
Willams at the Australian Open,
provided a sample to WADA. The
sample was scrutinized by the WADA
and it resulted in positive for the drug
meldonium. The WADA had notified
all athletes about the changes to be
brought regarding the banned
substances. Sharapova herself
admitted that she got an e-mail
regarding the subject and she failed to
go through the email. A discrepancy
regarding this fact has also arisen. The
authorities claim to have sent 5
notifications about the ban. Sharapova
has replied to the claim that she
received only one email whose subject
was directly related to the changes.
The other notifications, according to
her, were somewhere buried in
newsletters and articles. The company
which manufactured the drug has
stated that the prescribed dosage for
meldonium runs for four to six weeks.
This statement allegedly weakens
Sharapova’s position who claims to
have been taking the drug legally for
the past 10 years since 2006. But
Sharapova has clarified her statement
that she did not take the drug on a
daily basis, but as and when prescribed
by the doctor.
At the moment, Sharapova has been
provisionally banned from tennis.
Investigations will be held and the five
time grand slam champion is facing a
ban which can extend to as long as 4
years.
A ban as long as that can spell an end
to Sharapova’s playing career. She
turns 29 in April. Considering she gets
banned for 4 years, then she can only
comeback at the age of 33. I am not
ruling out a comeback, in fact I will be
hopeful for one if she gets banned, but
the age of 33 is by no means a suitable
age for a comeback. Add to it the injury
problems she has had, a comeback
would be a tough task to accomplish.
This admission may have a
catastrophic effect on the financial
aspect Sharapovas life. Major sponsors
have cut ties with the star athlete. Nike
suspended its relationship with
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Sharapova hours after her admission.
Porsche followed soon and stated that
they have postponed their planned
activities. Tag Heuer suspended its
contract extension negotiations with
Sharapova, which had expired in
December last year. These companies
along with Evian have decided to
monitor the situation till the whole
episode draws to a final conclusion.
But the racquet sponsor head has
stood firmly behind Sharapova in these
testing times and has stated that it
intends to extend its contact with
Sharapova.
Analysing the whole situation, we can
certainly put forward a question that is
such a mistake acceptable from a top
athlete. With so much of backroom
staff or support staff that these athletes
employ, it is unacceptable that a
mistake of such magnitude can occur.
Even if we take her word that she did
not open the email sent to her, still it
would not count for an honest mistake
but a very careless and negligent act.
The former world no.1, Caroline
Wozniacki has stated that an athlete
has to be extremely aware of what they
are consuming. It is their duty and the
doctors whom the work with to
confirm and reconfirm if the drug they
are going to consume has any
substance which is present on the list
of banned substances. Even a drug for
cold has to be rechecked. Some
factions have also called for her being
stripped off all her titles. In my
opinion that is going a step too far. The
drug has been banned very recently.
Thus means that she did not resort to
any illegal practice when she
consumed the drug prior to 1st January
2016. Moreover, there has been no
proof of how regularly she used the
drug. The worst case scenario would be
that she did use the drug on a regular
basis, but was it illegal. The answer is
no. She was entitled to use it, it may
not have been in the spirit of the sport
but it was not illegal and to strip
someone off her title for something
which is not illegal is not the right step
for me.
The WADA has confirmed that there
have been 99 cases where samples
have tested positive for meldonium.
Out of the 16 confirmed cases, 7 are
Russians. This lends support to the
fact that it is a widely used substance
especially in Russia.
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It is to the credit of Maria Sharapova
that she had the courage to come
forward and accept the failed drug test.
An easier alternative could have been
to suppress the news until the final
verdict was out, but she did not opt for
that.
Sharapova will be hoping for a not so
lengthy ban. She hopes that her
coming out and taking charge of the
situation will help things to be
perceived in a lenient way. She would
be expecting people to believe that it
was an honest mistake on her part. In
case she is banned, there is no doubt
that she will be sorely missed, not only
by her fans but by the whole tennis
fraternity. No one likes to see an
athlete depart in the shadows of
doping, especially not a top star. Then
again, no one is bigger than the sport.
The integrity of the sport has to be
protected at all costs. Sharapova
should serve the punishment she
deserves. At the same time, it is a
moment when others should realise
that one cannot be negligent instead
one should be overly careful in being
aware of what is being consumed.
.
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#2 GENDER INEQUALITY IN SPORTS:
THE PERSISTING THREAT TO
FEMALE ATHLETES
GAURAV MISRA
Dipika Pallikal has been protesting for past four year for wage inequality. Image
courtesy: www.hindusantimes.com
While every cricket enthusiast is busy
speculating the outcome of the Men’s T
20 cricket World Cup, hardly are even
a third of them aware that a cricket
World Cup tournament for women is
simultaneously taking place in the
same country. It isn’t a big surprise
that for the first time in cricketing
history ICC TV will broadcast live
coverage of only 10 out of 22 group
matches in addition to the semi final
and finals whereas the Men’s world
cup, or for that matter almost every
cricket match, gets a wide coverage
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and broadcast by different
broadcasting agencies. Till the
previous version of the tournament,
not even a single group match was
broadcasted. We all remember the
incident when P.T. Usha broke down
in front of live media for the indecent
treatment she received during an event
conducted by Sports Authority of
India. This is the state of affairs when
it comes to an internationally
acclaimed athlete; the situation of not
so popular sportswomen is left to the
imagination of the reader. India ranks
127 out of 147 in gender inequality
index which sums up the situation
quite well. All this suffices to say that
gender inequality is prevalent to the
core when it comes to sports.
Patriarchal society and conservative
mindset still hinders the path of a
female sportsperson, be it India or be
it the developed nations.
The problem starts right away at
home. If a girl communicates her wish
to even participate in a sporting event,
she is laughed off by her parents using
a strange reason every such girl is sick
of hearing, again and again, ‘sports are
meant for men’. Even if she continues
to pursue sports as a career she has to
face endless challenges starting right
from school. She is ridiculed and
questioned about how will she be able
to continue sporting activities during
her menstrual cycle, she is often said
to have lost her feminine
characteristics, often preached by the
sports teacher that ‘a female body is
biologically not capable of such things
and she is again and again discouraged
by her parents and society including
women themselves. Her growth and
the opportunity to hone her talent is
nipped in the bud. More than 70
percent of girls discontinue all sports
related activities by the time they pass
out from the school in India. For the
rest, it only gets rockier. The district
level sporting authorities lack
infrastructure and training facilities
for women. Usually male trainers train
these girls and more than often than
not they have to go through physical
and mental abuse by these trainers. In
a survey conducted by an NGO, almost
50 percent of the female athletes in
India confessed that at some point of
time of their career, they were sexually
abused. Even after this, if a girl is able
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to make it to state or national level;
there is a complete lack of
encouragement. Women competitions
are not given much importance by the
press and media and rarely are any
broadcasts made covering these
competitions. Media houses are
interested more in the attire or the
outfit of a female athlete instead of her
accolades and talent. Sania Mirza is
dictated upon what or what not to
wear on a tennis court. Paparazzi are
interested in covering the details of the
garments worn by Serena or in which
exotic location Maria Sharapova is
spending her vacations. Women are
viewed as an object of sexual desire.
Even their private decisions are
debated on National Television.
Whether Sania Mirza should marry
Shoaib Malik or not becomes a tea-
time discussion in every household.
While male sportspersons, especially
the cricketers are regarded to be the
pallbearers of nationalism and are
worshipped as gods, female cricketers
don’t even get substantial recognition.
General masses don’t even know about
the names of the players in the
national squad. Exclusion and non-
recognition of women in cricket sends
a deep rooted message that Indian
society does not associate women with
the nationalism which cricket
generates. The notion that men and
women are biologically and physically
different has been used to justify the
exclusion of women from sports from
time immemorial. Boys do not have
such parental and societal constraints
which restrict their choices. Boys are
usually encouraged by their father to
indulge more in sports and when they
fail to do so they are often regarded to
be ‘girly’. This notion of male
superiority is reflected even when it
comes to coaching. Where male
coaches coaching a female team is a
common occurrence, it is very rare to
find a female coaching a male team. It
is generally assumed that men are
capable of training women, but the
thought of a woman coaching a male
team is almost unthinkable to the
society.
Another incidence which clearly
indicates the deep rooted gender
inequality in sports is the wage gap
between a male and female athlete. In
India, women cricketers receive a fee
of around 1 lakh rupees per Test
Series, male cricketers receive around
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7 lakh rupees per Test Match and
around 4 lakh rupees per One Day
International match. Also when it
comes to prize money, the gap is huge.
The female players who won the FIFA
World Cup won $2 million, whereas
their male counterparts won, $35
million. It was comparably even much
less than the U.S male team which
received $9 million for getting knocked
out of round of 16. The only exception
to this is tennis which provides for
almost equal prize money for both men
and women. Indian athletes have been
for long protesting for equality in
wage. Deepika Pallikal has been
protesting for the past four years for
this injustice by not participating in
national competitions but to no avail.
At the Squash Rackets Federation of
India (SRFI) Nationals held last year,
the winner in Male category walked
away with a prize money of Rupees
1,20,000 while the women champion
got only Rupees 50,000. This issue
needs to be addressed as soon as
possible, but after closely watching the
situation, the Government of India and
Sporting Authorities seem to be in no
hurry regarding this.
The problems are innumerable.
Especially in a developing country like
ours, where the practices like female
foeticide and dowry are still prevalent,
almost nobody gives a second thought
to gender inequality prevalent in
sports. Many structural changes and
reforms are needed. The problem
needs to be addressed from the grass
root level. Infrastructural facilities for
female athletes need special attention.
District level bodies should ensure that
separate hostels, gymnasium and
training facilities are to be constructed
and well maintained to encourage the
spirit of sports for women. More and
more female coaches should be
brought about in these facilities. A
vigilance authority should be made
accountable to curb the practice of
sexual abuse. Most of the State
federations and National federations of
women’s sports have a large number of
male office bearers than their female
counterparts. This should be
addressed by balancing the proportion.
The Sports ministry and the Sports
Federation of India should be made
responsible directly for the
mismanagement. The issue regarding
the wage gap is one of the most
important issue as this gap is
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responsible for the lack of incentive.
This needs to be addressed
immediately through statutory
measures. The Ministry of
telecommunications also needs to
ensure that proper broadcasting and
coverage should be done at par with
the male sporting events. The
procedure to determine the sex of an
athlete is also obsolete and this needs
to be reviewed by the Medical council
of India and should be amended in
accordance with the global standard.
The biggest responsibility is yet on us,
being members of the abhorrently
patriarchal society that we are, to try
and break the patriarchal shackles and
encourage the female athletes, instead
of mocking and making them feel
uncomfortable. The dangerous trend
which is still continuing is a slap on the
whole concept of gender equity. In the
words of Sania Mirza , ‘It is difficult
to be a Sania Mirza in this
country.’
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#3 LIGHTING THE FLAME – KEEPING
THE TRADITION ALIVE
GURJOT SINGH KHURANA
Image courtesy: www.dailymail.co.uk
Mia Hamm, Gold medallist in women’s
football in 2004 and 1996 and silver
medallist in 2000 said, “I am building
a fire, and everyday I train, I add more
fuel. At just the right moment I light
the match.” Fire has always been seen
as a source of inspiration and energy
for everyone and specially sportsmen
and hence, marks the beginning of the
biggest event in sports as well-The
Olympics.
Definition
Rule 13 of Olympic Charter gives the
definition of Olympic flame and states
that:-
1.) The Olympic Flame is the flame
which is kindled in Olympia under the
authority of IOC.
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2.) An Olympic Torch is a portable
torch or a replica thereof, as approved
by the IOC and intended for
combustion of the Olympic flame.
Origin
The ancient Greeks considered fire to
be a divine element, and they
maintained perpetual fires in front of
their principal temples. This was the
base in the sanctuary of Olympia,
where the ancient Olympic Games took
place. The flame was let using the rays
of the sun, to ensure its purity, and a
scaphia, the ancestor of the parabolic
mirror used today for lighting the
Olympic flame. A flame turned
permanently on the altar of the
Goddess Hestia, and such fires were
also lit on the altars of Zeus and Hera,
in front of whose temple the Olympic
flame is lit today.
In the context of Modern Games, the
Olympic Flame represents the positive
values that man has always associated
with fire. The purity of the flame is
guaranteed by the way it is lit using the
sun’s rays. The choice of Olympia as a
departure point emphasises the link
between Ancient and Modern games
and underlines profound connection
between these two events.
Ceremonies
A relay precedes the arrival of the
flame at its final destination: the
Olympic stadium in the host city of
Olympic Games. The Organising
Committee of Olympic Games is
responsible for bringing the Olympic
flame to the Olympic Stadium
(Olympic Charter, Rule 54) When the
flame finally arrives at its destination,
the final torchbearers run into the
stadium to light the Olympic cauldron
with the flame, which remains lit for
the duration of games and is
extinguished only at the closing
ceremony of the Game. Like the
messengers who proclaimed the sacred
Olympic truce, the runners who carry
the Olympic flame carry a message of
peace on their journey.
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Torch relay in modern times
The torch relay in modern times, has
not regained everything that was
followed in Ancient Greece. The torch
relay in modern times is a non-
competitive replication of the ancient
flame relay. The torch relay, however
makes symbolic celebration of the
Olympic games.1936, Berlin Olympics
saw the introduction of torch relay,
when a lighted torch from Olympia
was carried to the site of Berlin
Olympic Games. The lighted torch
passed through seven countries-
Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia,
Czechoslovakia, Austria and Germany.
The first runner of the Olympic Torch
was young athlete Konstantinos
Kondylis.
Who Lights the torch?
The choice of the athlete, who lights
the flame in the Olympic Stadium, is
enjoyed by the host nation. Usually a
popular and a great sportsperson
enjoys the honour to light the flame in
cauldron of the stadium. The Olympic
torch has become a symbol of peace
between the continents of the world.
Since inception, the torch has travelled
across almost all nations that
participate in summer and winter
Olympics. In 1960, Rome Olympics,
the Olympic torch relay was televised
for the first time. In 2000 Sydney
Olympics, the Olympic Flame made its
underwater journey in the Great
Barrier Reef. In 2008 Beijing
Olympics, there was a record of
maximum travel during any Olympic
Relay in the history of modern games
2016 Rio Olympics Torch Relay
The Rio 2016 torch relay was
announced at a special event in Rio De
Janeiro on 24th February. The relay is
due to begin in Brazil on 3 May, and by
the time it has reached the host city for
2016 Opening Ceremony on 5th
August, it will have visited 329 towns
and cities across Brazil, covering an
astonishing amount of ground.
Starting in the capital city Brasilia, it
will travel 20,000 kilometres by land
and 10,000 by air, reaching an
estimated 90 percent of Brazil’s
population. Following its traditional
short relay of Greece, this will follow
the Olympic flame’s lighting on 21st
P a g e | 18
April. The torch will briefly visit
Switzerland before being brought to
Brazil. After departing Brasilia, it will
take in many of country’s most
stunning attractions, from the city of
Salvador and the beaches of Bahia to
the jungle-bound north, the mountains
and wine growing areas of the south, to
the vibrant city of Sao Paulo and,
eventually, Rio De Janeiro, itself.
Rio 2016 President Carlos Arthur
Nuzman remarked, “By taking the
Olympic Flame to the whole country,
we will be keeping our promise to give
millions of people the chance to
participate in a celebration that will
stay in their memories for a long time.
We want to see the pride of people on
streets, show our cultural diversity and
our nature. We will reveal to the world
essence of our country.”
A special hash tag #ChamaGeral ,
which can be translated as #Call
Everyone in English but features on
pun on ‘chama’, meaning call and
flame when read in Portuguese has
been created and a digital campaign
will encourage people to get out and
participate in this historic event from
wherever they will be in country. There
will be around 12,000 torchbearers in
total, all handed the exciting task of
carrying the torch along different
stages of 95 day journey. IOC
President Thomas Bach revealed that
one of the torchbearers in the Greek
Phase of the relay will be a refugee
from Eleonas camp in Athens.
Design of the Torch
The torch has a uniquely Brazilian
design, uniting movement, innovation
and the local flavour. It is intended to
reflect the sense of traditional Olympic
flame and warmth of Brazilian people
in all corners of the country. Just as
Theodore Bikel, an Austrian American
musician, composer and activist
stated, “You don’t really need
modernity in order to exist totally and
fully. You need a mixture of modernity
and tradition.” This tradition of
lighting the flame has evolved with
time. It can only be said that it is going
to ignite the passion for sportspersons
to lose their inhibitions, unite and
inspire them for all times to come.
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#4 INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE &
ASSOCIATED INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY RIGHTS
TEJASWINI RANJAN
Image courtesy:www.intoday.in
All of the official names, phrases,
trademarks, trade names, logos,
trophy image and designs related to
the IPL are protected by the law in a
variety of ways. If anyone could use
the IPL IPR for free, or could create or
suggest an association with the IPL,
there would be no incentive for
sponsors, partners or broadcasters to
invest in or support the IPL and,
ultimately, the amount of financial
distributions that the BCCI-IPL would
be able to make across its franchises
and across its membership base for
investment in the sport of cricket
towards development of infrastructure,
support of retired cricketers and match
officials and development of the game
P a g e | 20
at all levels would be damaged
immeasurably.
The IPL IPR is legally protected by a
wide variety of means, which include
trade mark and design laws, copyright
laws, competition and trade practices
laws, telecommunications and
broadcast laws relating to signal theft,
common law and the terms and
conditions under which IPL match
tickets are sold and pursuant to which
stadium entry is permitted.
What uses are unlawful without a license from the BCCI-IPL?
Without license from the BCCI-IPL, it
is unlawful to
(i) use the IPL Names and IPL Marks
in a manner likely to cause confusion
among members of the public as to the
existence of a commercial association
with the IPL, or
(ii) reproduce or distribute items using
IPL IPR in the course of trade. The IPL
Names and IPL Marks cannot be used
on goods, in business names or in
advertising or promotions without
license from the BCCI-IPL or one of its
authorised licensees that, in turn, has
the rights to grant sub-licenses.
(iii) to falsely represent or imply any
association, affiliation, endorsement,
sponsorship or similar relationship
with the BCCI-IPL.
Situations in which the IPL IPR can be used without the BCCI-IPL’s
explicit license and consent. :
The IPL Names, IPL Marks and, to a
limited extent and subject to the
current IPL Media Accreditation and
News Access Guidelines (and all
relevant copyright laws), the IPL
Footage, may be used for news
reporting purposes in non-commercial
editorial-only news pieces without the
BCCI-IPL’s prior authorisation.
In certain circumstances when
reporting and providing information
on the BCCI-IPL and/or the IPL,
journalists are able to use the IPL
Names and IPL Marks to illustrate
their editorial-only feature subject to
full compliance with applicable laws
and regulations. Such use of the IPL
IPR must be in compliance with these
guidelines.
P a g e | 21
Rights enjoyed by the franchise sponsors and partners :
Franchise sponsors and partners are
granted certain rights by the franchises
they associate with. The rights that
franchises may grant to their sponsors
and partners are governed by the
franchise agreement, sponsorship
guidelines, player ID guidelines and
other applicable league rules. In no
event may a franchise grant or a
franchise sponsor or partner be
granted any rights in IPL IPR. As a
result, a franchise sponsor or partner
shall in no event use IPL IPR (other
than specifically granted rights to use
franchise names, franchise marks, etc.)
by virtue of being a franchise sponsor
or partner. For the sake of clarity, no
franchise sponsor or partner may use
the IPL Names or IPL Marks in any of
its marketing communications or
promotions.
Some specific examples of impermissible unlicensed behaviour:
Advertisements, promotions and events :
Advertisement features stating or
suggesting an association between a
brand, product, service or event and
the IPL by using IPL Names, IPL
Marks and IPL Footage are
impermissible. Similarly, businesses
that produce newsletters to customers
or clients must ensure that IPL Names,
IPL Marks and IPL Footage are not
used, especially in a way which
suggests a commercial association
between their business and the IPL.
The same applies to businesses that
invite customers to IPL themed events.
Holding an event which is only about
the IPL and uses the IPL Names, IPL
Marks and IPL Footage is not
permissible. This is particularly true of
events that have commercial sponsors
involved
Websites Trademark and copyright laws apply equally to the Internet and to websites
:
Websites that provide information
about the IPL and are being operated
on a purely non commercial basis – for
example, a supporters’ site used to
P a g e | 22
provide information about players
participating in the IPL, or a chat
forum about the IPL – are unlikely to
infringe the BCCI-IPL’s rights.
However, the creation of IPL specific
communities that use IPL Names, IPL
Marks and IPL Footage and solicit and
raise sponsorships and advertising
constitutes commercial use of IPL IPR
and are impermissible.
In particular, live streaming and
deferred uploading of IPL Footage
(whether or not for profit),
reproduction of IPL Names and IPL
Marks in commercial contexts online
and sale of counterfeit and unofficial
IPL merchandise on auction and other
websites constitute serious
infringements of the BCCI-IPL’s
intellectual property rights and could
result in civil penalties and even
criminal prosecution. The registration
and use of domain names that contain
IPL Names also infringes IPL
trademarks and any attempt to divert
web traffic by the use of IPL Names in
meta-tags or other notations or
through the purchase of IPL Names as
search or advertising keywords is
impermissible. The creation of fantasy
leagues or other online competitions or
events that use or make reference to
the IPL or claim “official” status
without license or use IPL IPR are
impermissible.
Business Names :
Adopting business or trading names
that include IPL Names and using
business logos that include IPL Marks
or confusingly similar marks are
impermissible. Tickets and Hospitality
Packages Tickets to IPL matches are
sold under specific conditions.
Primarily, these may only be
purchased through officially appointed
ticketing agents for personal use. IPL
tickets may not be used for promotions
or as prizes in contests. The right to
run ticket promotions is reserved for
IPL sponsors and partners and is
strictly prohibited by the tickets’ terms
and conditions. Further, IPL tickets
may not be resold for a profit or as part
of hospitality packages by unlicensed
travel agents or other entities. Only
IPL sponsors and partners may use
IPL marks in these promotions. IPL
tickets may not be sold, or otherwise
included for commercial purposes as
part of a travel or tour package (for
P a g e | 23
example combining match tickets with
flights and/or a hotel room for the
night) by unlicensed travel agents or
other entities. Further, unlicensed
travel agents or other entities may not
engage in any form of activity which
may result in an unauthorised
commercial association with the IPL,
to the detriment of the BCCI-IPL or its
commercial affiliates, whether by way
of an unauthorised use of IPL Names
and IPL Marks or otherwise.
Public Screenings :
The IPL and its official broadcaster
retain all rights to license commercial
screenings of IPL Footage made
available to members of the public or
displayed in public places. Prohibited
acts include display of IPL Footage in
movie theatres, the sale of tickets or
levying of a cover charge for entry to a
location screening IPL Footage or IPL
themed screening events that use the
IPL Names, IPL Marks and IPL
Footage.
Mobile and wireless services and applications :
IPL Names, IPL Marks and IPL
Footage may not be used on any
mobile or wireless technology,
including on mobile applications
without license. Further, SMS updates
of live scores, games, competitions and
features that utilise the IPL IPR may
not be offered or made available
without license from the IPL’s official
mobile and mobile activation partner.
Merchandise Merchandise with
general cricket terms, India related
terms (provided there is no usage of
IPL IPR) are permissible. Prohibited
acts include, the manufacture and sale
of counterfeit merchandise relating to
the IPL, and the unlicensed use of IPL
IPR or any reference to the IPL or
unlicensed use of the IPL IPR relating
to any of the teams participating in the
IPL, in the merchandise.
Match Schedule:
Use of the match schedule to provide
information in a purely non-
commercial sense is permitted.
However, the commercial use or
presentation of the match schedule by
third parties is not permitted.
P a g e | 24
Editorial uses, Newsletters :
Purely editorial use of IPL Names and
IPL Marks solely for conveying
information and without association
with any commercial entity is
permissible use. However, this
journalistic use exception with respect
to IPL Names, IPL Marks and IPL
Footage does not apply to the
production and distribution of
newsletters, client bulletins or other
marketing collateral produced in the
guise of journalism, which state or
suggest an official association between
a product, service or event and the IPL.
Consequences of using any IPL IPR without the BCCIIPL’s authorization
:
Unauthorised use of the IPL IPR may
infringe one or more of the intellectual
property rights of the BCCI-IPL, the
terms of the agreements signed
between the BCCI-IPL and official
sponsors and partners of the IPL
and/or the terms and conditions under
which IPL tickets are sold and stadium
entry is permitted. While the BCCI-IPL
expects full compliance with the above,
it is prepared to take all legal action in
the case of each and any infringement
and violation. This could include an
injunction to stop the infringing
activity, a suit for damages or
compensation or an enforced
accounting of profits by the infringer
to the BCCI-IPL. Both civil and
criminal remedies may be available in
the case of intellectual property
violations, signal theft and other
violations of the BCCI-IPL’s rights.
Before the BCCI-IPL initiates legal
proceedings, a suspected infringer may
receive a legal notice from the BCCI-
IPL’s lawyers or its designated agent,
advising the infringer of violations and
unlicensed usage relating to the IPL
IPR and/or potential infringements
constituting breach of the media
accreditation guidelines and/or the
news access guidelines and/or the
terms and conditions of download and
usage of the IPL Marks. In such event,
the offending party may be given the
opportunity, without prejudice to any
rights of the BCCI-IPL to take legal
action against the offending party, to
P a g e | 25
refrain from the continued use of the
IPL IPR and/or the potential
infringements. If the infringer fails to
respond to and adhere to the
requirements and conditions set out in
the legal notice, the BCCI-IPL will
exercise its right to pursue its legal and
administrative remedies. No such prior
warning, however, is required, and the
BCCI-IPL will utilise all resources
available to fully protect the IPL IPR
and ensure persons are dissuaded from
infringing any rights relating to the
IPL.
The BCCI-IPL must prevent
unlicensed third parties from
undertaking unauthorised activities
that damage or dilute the BCCI-IPL’s
exclusive rights and those of its
sponsors, partners and broadcasters.
Also, in order to maintain the integrity
of the IPL brand and to protect against
dilution and damage to its reputation
and prestige, it is vital that the BCCI-
IPL retains careful control of IPL IPR
and their use.
P a g e | 26
#5 PHENOMENAL CONCEPT OF SPORTS
CONTRACT: PROCEDURES AND PRINCIPLES
AVI DHIRENDRA & SABAH KHAN
Image courtesy:pspk9.com
I. INTRODUCTION
Employment relationship between the
athlete and team is hold by the legal
glue known as contracts. When both
the parties intend the act of signature
to be the last act in the formation of a
valid contract, it results in the
formation of valid contract. Contract in
sports defines the various roles and
responsibilities of participants in the
business of professional sports.
Sports contract are different from
normal contracts due to various
factors. Sports contract are relatively
short in duration and moreover the
P a g e | 27
money is typically staggering, the
terms and conditions are on take it or
leave it basis, basis emphasize is made
on the maintenance of excellent
physical condition, and participants
are considered as entertainers who are
playing and are paid accordingly. The
principles followed in the Formation of
sports contract are same as in more
standard contract. In evaluating the
validity of the contract, there must be
an offer and offeree, consideration,
and a proper acceptance.
The standardized agreement between
the athlete and the team is Standard
Player’s Contract (SPK). The player’s
rights are specified by this
employment contract. The SPK states
that the player has unique skills and
that the team controls the activities of
the player. The SPK is used in the
major team sports and is usually a part
of the collective bargaining agreement.
There is little flexibility in its term, and
its signing is a prerequisite to
compliance. If the player has relative
bargaining strength to demand
Specialty Clauses then they are added
to the SPK. These clauses include
signing bonus, option clauses, no-cut
clauses, and various incentive bonuses.
Through the inclusion by way of an
incorporation clause the collateral
agreement is considered as modify
contracts, examples of which are
collective bargaining agreements and
the league constitution and bylaws.
Terminations, Assignments, and
Remedies are methods to end, change
or satisfy potential contract disputes.
In order to terminate a contract the
club must act in his rights; if it does
not, the termination represents a
breach of contract. When the athlete is
traded to another team an assignment
of player’s contract occurs. Money
damages, restitution, or specific
contracts are included as the remedies
for the breach of contract.
Defenses may be posited in an alleged
breach of contract; unclean hands,
unconscious ability, and mutuality are
the typical defenses for sports contract.
II. PRINCIPLES OF LAW OF CONTRACT
Contracts dominate daily business
dealings in all over the world. Parties
enter into contracts to gain a better
understanding of the rights and
responsibilities of each party to the
agreement. Contracts should clearly
P a g e | 28
state the obligations of each party to
the contract and also state the
repercussions if one party fails to fulfill
those obligations. Parties exchange
goods and services in the stream of
commerce on an everyday basis
through written or oral contracts.
Some contracts are more detailed than
others, but it is wise for all parties to
an agreement to fully understand the
terms of a contract before reaching an
agreement. Sports contracts are
governed by the basics of contract law
but possess some unique features as
well. It is essential to have a basic
understanding of contract law to
determine how sports contracts
function and how they can be
interpreted. This part of the paper is
not meant to be a treatise on contracts
but merely to provide the reader with a
rudimentary overview of the subject of
contracts so the reader may have the
necessary background to understand
contract law in the context of sports
law.
DEFINITION OF CONTRACT
Contract law deals with the concept of
the formation and enforcement of
agreements between parties. A
contract has been defined as “an
agreement between two or more
parties which creates an obligation to
do or not to do a particular thing.” The
Restatement (Second) of Contracts
defines a contract as “a promise or set
of promises for the breach of which the
law gives a remedy, or the performance
of which the law in some way
recognizes as a duty.
III. HOW SPORTS CONTRACTS ARE DIFFERENT?
Contracts in sports are different from
other contracts. The preeminent
contract in sports is the employment
contract . If a team hires a player to
play say for a period three years, there
will be clauses in the contracts that will
appear incongruous. For example, at
the time of signing the contract the
athlete might agree to abide by a
morality clause or a clause that forbids
his participation in certain sports.
As every athlete is deemed to be
unique and each contract stipulates
that the each athlete posse’s unique
and irreplaceable skills, no matter how
P a g e | 29
average is he. Every athlete then must
swear that his skills are one of a kind.
The reason for this is that the courts
recognized that in team sports there
exists a mystical chemistry between
the teammates and even if one element
is taken from the equation, no matter
how unremarkable, the entire team is
changed. The concept which adds
uniqueness in sports employment
contract is the concept of “juice” which
is defined as the ability based on
unique skills to write your own tickets
or rampant popularity. The more juice
a player posses, the greater his ability
to modify his employment contract by
attaching standard modifications or
not so standard modifications, and this
principle is clearly stated in the case of
Napoleon Lajoie.
IV. FORMATION OF SPORTS CONTRACT
In order to form a valid contract both
the team and the athlete must intend
to sign the contract as the last and final
act in the creation of the binding
agreement. During the act of signing
the minds should meet genuinely. The
parties in the contract must be
identified. The team, the entity that
offers the contract, is the offerer, and
the athlete, the one who is offered the
contract, is the offeree.
After the identification of parties the
next step is to determine whether the
athlete has properly accepted the
team’s offer. If the response of the
athlete is different from what was
offered by the team then it is
considered as the counter offer to the
team’s original offer. In earlier days
the signature of the league
commissioner for approving the
contract were considered as the
condition precedent for a binding
contract. If the commissioner has not
signed the approval, then the contract
was merely a counteroffer and the lack
of signature results into material
breach; and the signing by the player
was considered as only a revocable
offer. The Los Angeles Rams V.
Cannon and Detroit Football Co. V.
Robinson cases are the early examples
how contracts were interpreted before
the National Football League changed
its SPK to reflect a lessened
importance to commissioner’s
signature approving the contract. Both
cases came at the time of interleague
rivalry between the National Football
League and the American Football
P a g e | 30
League in which there was a fierce
competition to sign the best collegiate
players.
THE FORMATION OF SPORTS CONTRACT CAN BE CATEGORIZED INTO 3
PARTS:
(1) Offer
(2) Acceptance
(3) Interpretation
OFFER
The team forms the origin of the
contract. The original offer,
employment contract etc. are prepared
by the team. The acceptance of the
player is come into existence when he
signs the contract. But if the signing of
the contract by the player is not
accompanied by the consideration and
a withdrawal is forwarded to the team
before an acceptance, then the player’s
signature is merely an authentication
of a revocable offer as opposed to the
formation of a binding contract. The
validity of the offer is solely
determined by the intent of the parties.
ACCEPTANCE
While considering that there was a
valid acceptance or not, the initial
question which has to be determined is
that of timeliness. That is, was the
athlete’s acceptance of the contract
proffered in a timely manner or not.
The concept of acceptance is not
particularly delineated. Acceptance is
manifested or indicated by any act that
express the athlete’s willingness to be
bound by the exact terms of the offer.
INTERPRETATION
There are many terms in sports that
are almost inherently ambiguous, or
even oxymoronic. The folks who do not
inherently understand the dynamics of
the sports will misinterpret these
terms if these terms are not
predefined. The pre controversy
interpretation that parties place on the
contract term is given great weight in
the process of deciphering the intent
P a g e | 31
and understanding of the now
conflicting parties. If there is any
dispute as to the interpretation of the
terms of a contract than the Courts will
enforce the intent of the parties to the
contract. The intent which will be
enforced by court is what a reasonable
person would have believed that the
parties are intending. There may be a
times where the terms of a contract are
itself contradictory in such a situation
the court will try to interpret the
provision in light of other provisions
and resolve the conflict. However, if
the court is not able to arrive at a
particular conclusion, the Court will
declare that there is no contract. A
contract can be termed as ambiguous
when it is uncertain what the intent of
the parties was and whether the
contract is capable of more than one
reasonable interpretation. Also, Courts
abide by the rule that an ambiguous
contract is interpreted against the
party who drafted it. In other words,
the party who did not draft the
contract will be given the benefit of the
doubt so to speak. In contract
interpretation, earlier contract
between the parties may be useful as in
the case of Pasquel V. Owen where the
breach occurred after the partial
performance of the contract, it is
useful to look how the parties actually
functioned under the contract.
V. STANDARD PLAYER’S CONTRACT
Standard Player Contract (SPK) is the key
link between the players and their teams.
The only employment contract which is
allowed in professional sports is SPK. It is
a contract of adhesion that has been
shaped and reshaped by successful court
challenges and the collective bargaining
process. More particularly the SPK states
that it does not matter how average the
player appears, he always possess some
unique skills.
All major sports leagues use standard
player contracts. Star players are
sometimes able to modify the standard
player contract through the negotiation
process by adding incentives and bonus
clauses; however, the majority of
professional athletes will sign a standard
player contract without modification. The
standard player contract is a product of
the collective bargaining process.
Management and labor have negotiated
what they have deemed to be a contract
suitable for both parties, each arguing for
provisions that support the best interests
of either labor or management. Legal and
business issues arise when teams attempt
P a g e | 32
to modify the standard player contract.
Instead of proceeding through the court
system to litigate contractual issues,
players and management have determined
that those matters will be decided by
binding arbitration.
The standard player contract (SPK) can be
said to be usually in a “humdrum” form.
Humdrum is a standard wording that can
be reused again and again without any
change. Whether the athlete is involved in
a league with a players association or not,
the contract usually offered to the athlete
and other athletes are all the same other
than the salary and bonus. There can be
extension to the SPK. The leagues which
are newly formed model their own
contracts after one of the Big Four (NFL,
MLB, NBA and NHL) in order to recognize
issues which are relevant to team owners
and the athletes. There are some start-up
leagues which have taken a new approach
to contracts of professional services by
establishing minimal salaries for the
athletes in that sport and rewarding the
team and athlete on a per game basis with
other incentives. The now defunct Xtreme
Football League (XFL), for example,
offered modest salaries to its players. Such
wages were comparable to wages of the
average U.S. worker. This is primarily due
to the fact that the league owned all of the
teams rather than each team serving as a
franchise for the league. None of the Big
Four sports leagues are run by a single
entity. Each team is a franchise and
competes for players. That is a primary
reason for the escalation of player salaries.
VI. PROVISIONS IN STANDARD PLAYER CONTRACTS WHICH
ESTABLISH THE TEAM'S EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO THE ATHLETE'S
SERVICES
a. EXPRESS COVENANTS
The express covenants are those
which are created by the express words
of the parties to the deed declaratory of
their intention. In the typical standard
player contract, there are three types of
covenants that support the team's
exclusive right to an athlete's services.
The first clause consists of the athlete's
promise to play for the contracting
team. In most instances, the athlete
promises to play "only" for the team
with which he signs. The second clause
limits the athlete's mobility by
restricting his right to engage in other
athletic activities. Although the
primary intent of this provision is to
minimize the athlete's exposure to
injury, it also rather expansively
supports a team's contention that the
athlete agreed to provide his services
P a g e | 33
exclusively to the contracting team.
The third commonly used "exclusivity"
clause specifies that the athlete's
services are "unique" and that the team
is entitled to seek an injunction if the
athlete accepts employment with
another team. Needless to say, this
clause is most frequently relied upon
as the team's primary basis for
obtaining injunctive relief.
b. IMPLIED COVENANTS
The implied covenants are those
which are inferred by the law from
certain words in a contract. In the rare
instance where an express covenant
establishing the team's exclusive right
to services does not appear in the
athlete's contract, the team may seek
“injunctive relief” on the theory that an
implied covenant exists. Both the
commentators and the courts have
provided support for the general
proposition that a covenant of
exclusive services will be implied if the
contract language and the intent of the
parties sustain such an inference. In
determining the intent of the parties,
courts characteristically focus on
whether the arrangement was
intended to be "exclusive." In major
team sports, such an inference is easily
established, at least with regard to
playing other professional sports.
VII. SPECIALTY CLAUSES IN SPORTS CONTRACT
The SPK leaves a little room for
negotiating or sweetening the pot. It is
so called specialty clauses, however,
where the astute agent is able to add
incentives or bonuses. The addition of
more and more specialty clauses in
SPK depends upon the bargaining
power of the athlete, thus making the
entire agreement attractive. Only
player’s juice and agent’s imagination
can delineate the limit of specialty
clause. Specialty clause includes
signing bonuses, options, releases, no-
cuts, and collateral agreements. On the
other hand there are Collateral
agreements, which are the documents
that affect the player-club relationship
and these provisions are incorporated
into the SPK. So, in effect, when a
player signs the six-page SPK he also
agrees to some 300 pages of other
materials. The main three specialty
clauses are defined below:
SIGNING BONUS
P a g e | 34
The contract negotiation process aims
at signing bonus. The agent wants to
upfront the maximum money possible.
A signing bonus is up-front money in
that the entire player has to do, at a
minimum, is to appear in the training
camp ready to play. Since the money
received is for the mere act of signing,
and not for actual playing, therefore, it
is not considered as salary. The player
will keep all the bonus money received
if he is “cut” later on. The most well
known form of specialty clause is
known as the signing bonus. The
athlete must appear at training camp
in good shape, ready to play in order to
receive these are the minimum which
the athlete has to do. The signing
bonus of a player cannot be considered
to be his salary. The employee will
receive it for little more than the mere
act of signing. If he is "cut" later on, he
will still keep the bonus money. In
some cases where the team folds in the
interim, the player must only show a
willingness to perform. In the case of
Albama Football, Inc v. Stabler the
athlete was allowed to keep the signing
bonus even after though the team was
no longer in existence.
NO-CUT
The no cut clause ensures that the
player will not be cut during the life of
the contract. This is very desirable for
the player. Termination of player by
the management can be done on
various grounds such as: skill, physical
injury, off-season injuries, or
suspension, for instance. As a result
there is variety of no-cut clauses that
prevents the player from certain types
of termination.
OPTION
The team can unilaterally bind the
player for another year at a stated
percent (usually 10 percent less) of the
prior year’s salary with the help of an
option clause. Some control of
management still retains over the
employee even after the contract is
over and thus it is thought to be
anticompetitive. However, the onerous
aspects of the option year are usually
ameliorated through the collective
bargaining process. The court in
Hennigan v. Charger Football Co.
pertaining to payment for the option
P a g e | 35
year in case of player’s injury observed
that the plaintiff was not entitled to
compensation for the 1967 football
season from the defendant. The
plaintiff was terminated for his
inability to pass the physical
examination. The “no-cut” clause did
not protect plaintiff, and the proviso in
this clause was inapplicable.
VIII. TERMINATIONS, REMEDIES & DEFENSES BY THE PLAYERS
TERMINATIONS
The majority of the rights that foster
the drafting and redrafting of a sports
contract appear to be most closely
associated with management’s right.
The non justified termination of the
athlete’s employment contract may be
deemed as a breach of contract.
However, justification is interpreted
broadly. If the athlete is physically
unable to perform, the employer can
terminate the contract. But, if the
termination is made by the team on
the basis of an injury, such an action is
covered by a provision in the union-
management collective bargaining
agreement.
In order to terminate an athlete’s
employment contract the club must act
in the framework of its rights. If the
athlete is out of shape, lack skill, or
defies club and league rules, or for a
material breach of standard player
contract, then the club has the full
right to terminate the athlete’s
employment contract.
REMEDIES
A contract breach is usually remedied
by money damages, restitution, or
specific performance. Usually, a party
will seek the benefit of the bargain that
which was promised in relation to
what was received. After that, if the
legal remedy is inadequate the party
may seek specific performance if the
services are unique i.e. the court will
not force the athlete to play against his
will but because of athlete’s
uniqueness the court will allow the
prevailing party to enjoin the athlete
from playing with any team or league
other that the one that he is currently
under contract with.
DEFENSES
P a g e | 36
When either party alleges a breach of
contract, several defenses are
available. On the termination of
contract by the team due to injury the
collective bargaining agreement comes
into play. The doctor of the team
prepares a diagnosis report which is
submitted to the arbitration and is
reviewed by a normal physician.
During the arbitration the club can
raise some defenses such as failure to
pass the preseason medical exam,
failure to make complete disclosure of
a physical or mental condition, an
injury that has occurred prior to the
physical examination, a non sport, no
new sports related injury after exam,
and no aggravation of a prior injury
after the physical.
THE DEFENSES CAN BE BROADLY CATEGORIZED INTO 3 PARTS
LACK OF MUTUALITY
Although mutuality has numerous
meanings in various contexts, the term
most frequently refers to the required
reciprocal exchange of consideration
between the promisor and the
promisee to a bilateral contract. In the
sports context, mutuality has a
specialized meaning which denotes a
required “mutuality of remedy” or
“obligation”. Notwithstanding the fact
that lack of mutuality was a primary
defense in early sports cases, today the
doctrine is all but dead. The modern
focus in sports cases is not on
mutuality per se, but rather on
whether equity will enforce an unfair
bargain."
UNCONSCIONABILITY
As in any other contractual setting, an
athlete may assert unconscionability as
an affirmative defense. Modem courts
scrutinize the fundamental fairness of
contracts, requiring that terms fairly
proportion the rights and duties of the
contracting parties. In sports litigation,
unconscionability has particular
applicability in challenging reserve or
option clauses, which are common in
standard player contracts. If contract
terms are sufficiently harsh and
P a g e | 37
oppressive, modem courts will simply
refuse to enforce those terms.
Although an attack on option or
reserve clauses predicated on illegality
may fail, an appeal to the fairness of
the court may still succeed, as courts
retain discretion to deny enforcement
of unconscionable agreements. When
courts take action to enjoin a “jump”,
some authorsity exists for the
proposition that the defendant-
athlete’s rights will be protected by
examining whether the former team
will satisfy all of its obligations under
the contract - the most important of
which are the former team’s ability and
willingness to continue paying the
athlete’s salary. Some courts will
ensure this protection by issuing a
conditional injunction.
UNCLEAN HANDS
A party cannot request the court to
grant an equitable remedy if the party
enters into contract with unclean
hands. Athletes have successfully used
this doctrine to defend against teams
that have attempted to enjoin a player
from playing with another team.
IX. CONCLUSION
Throughout the article, the authors has
tried to cover various aspects of Sports
Contracts and other allied matters. It
has been seen that sports contract
differ typically from contracts of
ordinary nature. The authors has
discussed Standard Player contracts,
the formation of the contracts, the
negotiation process, termination
process, several special clauses
embedded in sports contract which
give it altogether a different
dimension. Sports contract give
players certain level of security as they
are embedded with certain special
elements to protect the interests of the
players and provide them with
affordable quality to play.
Moreover, the sports contract being in
the nature of a contract different from
ordinary contracts does find a special
mention insofar the drafting is
concerned. The drafting of sports
contracts must be done in a very
sophisticated manner, whereby it is
assured that the interest of the player
as well as of the employer is protected.
P a g e | 38
The drafting has to be done carefully
also because if room for error is
allowed, it may lead to long term court
settlement in case of a dispute. It has
to be kept in mind that sports
contracts do hold a very important
place in sports world comprising of
sports entertainment, etc and
therefore the consumer and player
satisfaction are also the prime
importance while such contracts are
drafted and implemented.
P a g e | 39
#6 ZAFIR: NATIONAL LAW
UNIVERSITY, DELHI SPORTS FEST
3-6 MARCH ,2016
SHWETA KABRA
KUMAR RITWIK
SIDDHARTH GAUTAM
P a g e | 46
Most events happened in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium except for basketball which
happened in NLUD. Some other facts are here:
1. Total of 19 colleges not only from in and around Delhi but across the country- Bits
Pilani, NLU Jodhpur, Tamil Nadu National Law University etc.
2. 697 participants in total
3. 13 sports and 9 events in athletics
4. Encouraging women's participation- 3 teams in women's cricket.
BITS Pilani got the highest points, thus winning the overall best contingent trophy.
Mona Nooreyezdan from NLUD won the Best Female Athlete Prize. The top 3 female
athletes received the free sports law course from MyLaw.net.
P a g e | 47
#7 CASE LAW ALERT
Image Courtesy:www.pspk9.com
Chantelle Kerry v Ice Skating Australia
The Appellant, Chantelle Kerry, an
Australian figure skater, filed an
Application in the Appeals Division of
CAS on the 4th December 2013,
seeking a declaration that Brooklee
Han, another Australian figure skater,
is ineligible to be nominated by Ice
Skating Australia (ISA) to the
Australian Olympic Committee (AOC)
to skate at the Winter Olympic Games
in Sochi in 2014, together with other
forms of relief. The Application named
ISA as the Respondent, Brooklee Han
as an Affected Party, and the AOC as
an Interested Party. At a Directions
Hearing by teleconference on the 9th
December, the parties agreed that “the
Court of Arbitration of Court (CAS) has
jurisdiction to determine, by
arbitration the question of eligibility
(the Eligibility Question) of Ms
Brooklee Han (the Affected Party) to
be nominated by the ISA (the
Respondent) to the Australian Olympic
Committee for the 2014 Winter
Olympic Games in Sochi”. They also
agreed that “once the Eligibility
Question has been determined by the
CAS, the question of nomination is to
be referred back to the Respondent for
determination in accordance with the
applicable nominations criteria” and
that “the determination of the
Respondent referred to (above) is to be
final and binding on all athletes, and
all other persons whose interests might
P a g e | 48
be affected, unless the determination is
so obviously perverse or irrational, in
which case the determination will be
subject to a further appeal to the CAS.”
The Appellant filed an Appeal Brief,
containing submissions and some
evidentiary documents. The
Respondent and the Affected Party did
likewise in their respective Outlines of
Submissions, and the Appellant also
filed some submissions in Reply, which
included some new evidence. The
Respondent’s and Affected Party’s
rights to reply to that new evidence
were reserved.
APPLICABLE RULES AND REGULATIONS
Nomination of skaters for selection in
the 2014 Australian Winter Olympics
Team is governed by the AOC Olympic
Team Selection By-Law (the Selection
By-Law), the 2014 Australian Olympic
Winter Team Selection Criteria –
Figure Skating (the Selection Criteria)
and the 2014 Australian Olympic
Winter Team Ice Skating Australia
Incorporated Nomination Criteria –
Figure Skating (the Nomination
Criteria).
The Selection Criteria set out relevant
provisions for eligibility for selection
including as follows: “In order to be
selected by the AOC as a member of
the 2014 Australian Olympic Winter
Team, each Athlete (or team where
applicable) must: (1) have met the
requirements prescribed in the
Qualification System; (2) have met and
continue to observe and meet the
eligibility requirements for Australian
competitors described in the Olympic
Charter; (3) have met and continue to
meet the requirements of Rules 40 and
44 of the Olympic Charter and their
Bye-Laws.”
The Bye-Law to Rule 40 of the
Olympic Charter provides:
“1. Each IF [International Federation]
establishes its sport’s own eligibility
criteria in accordance with the
Olympic Charter. Such Criteria must
be submitted to the IOC Executive
Board for approval.
2. The application of the eligibility
criteria lies with the IFs, their affiliated
national federations and the NOCs in
P a g e | 49
the fields of their respective
responsibilities.”
In Ice Skating, the current rules
relating to eligibility of skaters
generally are to be found in the
International Skating Union
Constitution and General Regulations
2012 (the ISU Regulations). In relation
to this matter, the relevant provisions
relied on by the Appellant are found in
Part B of the General Regulations,
headed “Eligibility” and in particular
in Rule 102 which provides:
1. Eligibility Status
a) The eligibility Rules of the ISU are
based upon the principles that:
i) a person has the privilege to take
part in the activities and competitions
under the jurisdiction of the ISU only
if such person respects the principles
and policies of the ISU as expressed in
the ISU Statutes and fulfils those
obligations on the basis of which the
ISU functions and governs all its
activities;
ii) the condition of eligibility is made
for the adequate protection of the
economic and other interests of the
ISU, which uses its financial revenues
for the administration and
development of the ISU sport
disciplines and for the support and
benefit of the Members and their
Skaters.
b) An eligible person is one who elects
to take part only in International
Competitions which are:
i) sanctioned by the Member and/or
the ISU;
ii) conducted by ISU recognized and
approved Officials, including Referees,
Technical Controllers, Technical
Specialists, Judges, Starters,
Competitors Stewards and others; and
iii) conducted under ISU Regulations.
.................
2. Definition of an ineligible person A
person becomes ineligible to
participate in ISU activities and
competitions by:
i) skating or officiating without the
prior express authorization of the
respective Member, in any capacity in
a Skating competition, exhibition or
tour in any of the sport disciplines of
the ISU:
P a g e | 50
ii) skating or officiating in a
competition conducted by Officials
(Referees, Technical Controllers,
Technical Specialists, Judges, Starters,
Competitors Stewards, etc.) not on the
approved list of the respective Member
or on the ISU approved list;
iii) skating or officiating in an event
not sanctioned by a Member and/or
the ISU; or
iv) otherwise violating this Rule 102.”
The Appellant’s contention is that
Brooklee Han became ineligible to be
considered for nomination through the
application of Rule 102(2)(i).
Loss of eligibility
a) The consequences of a breach of the
eligibility Rules shall be the loss of
eligibility. The status of a person
disqualified or suspended under other
applicable Rules, does not affect the
eligible status of such person, but it
limits, according to the terms of the
applicable disciplinary sanction, the
right of such person to participate in
the competitions and activities of the
ISU.
b) The ISU Council, upon presentation
of such evidence as it considers
sufficient at its sole discretion, may
rule upon an alleged breach of the
eligibility Rules, whether or not any
protest has been made against an
individual’s eligible status in skating.
c) Before a ruling is made by the
Council, both the Member and the
person concerned shall be notified and
the person concerned shall be given
the opportunity to furnish an
explanation of the alleged breach
(which may be in writing). If the
person concerned does not avail
himself of such opportunity within
fifteen (15) days of receipt of such
notice, his right to furnish an
explanation shall be waived.
Matters concerning eligibility not
otherwise foreseen in the ISU Rules
shall be considered by the Member
concerned in a manner consistent with
the spirit and intent of the ISU Rules.”
Finally the relevant Nomination
Criteria are as follows:
“2. Nomination of Athletes For the
purposes of nomination to the AOC of
Athletes for selection to the 2014
Australian Olympic Winter Team, Ice
Skating Australia will nominate
P a g e | 51
Athletes according to the following
process:
(a) if Australia qualifies a quota
place(s) at the ISU Olympic
Qualifiying Competition, then
Ice Skating Australia will
nominate the Athlete(s) who
qualified the quota place
............”
It is common ground between the
parties that Brooklee Han competed
for Australia at the Olympic Qualifying
Event, the Nebelhorn Trophy at
Oberstdorf, Germany in September
2013 and there she qualified Australia
for a quota spot for ladies figure
skating at the Olympic Winter Games
in Sochi. There has been no argument
that, apart from the Eligibility
Question, Clause 2 (2) of the
Nomination Criteria would then see
her automatically nominated to
represent Australia in Sochi. 10.
However, in August of 2013, Brooklee
Han competed in the Hershey Open
2013 Figure Skating Competition in
New York City. The question which is
raised by the Appellant in her
Application and Submissions is
whether Brooklee Han’s competing in
that competition rendered her
ineligible under ISU Rule 102 (2) (i),
the contention of the Appellant being
that she did not have “prior express
authorization of the respective
Member”, namely the ISA, to do so.
The evidence as to authorisation is as
follows:
On June 30, 2011, the President of ISA
wrote to Brooklee Han as follows:
“Dear Brooklee, RE: Permission to
Skate in US Figure Skating sanctioned
events On behalf of Ice Skating
Australia, I am pleased to give you
permission to skate in any competition
or exhibition that is sanctioned by US
Figure Skating. I encourage you to take
whatever opportunities are available.
All the best for the Summer, and I look
forward to seeing you in Brisbane for
the Junior Grand Prix in September.
Sincerely, (Signed) Cathy Taylor,
President, Ice Skating Australia.”
Then on 25 July 2012 there was a
further letter as follows: “To Whom It
May Concern Ice Skating Australia is
pleased to give permission for
Brooklee Han to skate in any
exhibition or compete in Junior or
Senior singles competitions sanctioned
by US Figure Skating during 2012. I
P a g e | 52
can confirm that Brooklee is a current
member in good standing. She
competed at Junior and Senior
National and International level in
2011 and is still Junior age eligible
(Date of Birth 06/07/1995). Sincerely,
(Signed) Cathy Taylor, President, Ice
Skating Australia”
There was no similar letter written in
2013. However, evidence adduced by
the Affected Party included a proposed
competition schedule for her for the
2013-2014 season, sent to ISA in April
2013, which proposed competing in
the Hershey Open in August 2013,
amongst other events.
On 28 November 2013, an email was
sent to the Appellant’s father in
response to correspondence from him
raising the eligibility issue, which
stated that “Reading ISA and ISU
Rules, the ISA Board of Management
has determined that Ms. Brooklee Han
continues to be an eligible skater.
Regards Sean O’Brien, Honorary
Secretary, Ice Skating Australia.”
There is no evidence that the eligibility
question has been raised with the ISU.
It is common ground between the
parties that the Hershey Open is an
event which is sanctioned by US Figure
Skating, the ISU Member Federation
in the USA. It is a domestic
competition which, it seems, accepts
entries from foreign competitors.
However, Brooklee Han, who is a dual
Australian and US citizen, competed in
the event under the name of the US
club of which she is a member.
The Appellant also adduced evidence
in her Submissions In Reply outlining
the process usually undertaken in
seeking authorisation to compete
internationally, and examples of
eligibility decisions and rules from
other countries. This evidence was
admitted on the condition that the
Respondent and Affected Party would
have the opportunity to answer it, if
need be.
THE PARTIES’ SUBMISSIONS
The Appellant contends that
authorisation from the ISA was
required for Brooklee Han to skate in
the Hershey Open in 2013, and that no
such authorisation was obtained. It
was argued by the Appellant that
because the Hershey Open was an
event being conducted by a Member
other than ISA, whether sanctioned or
P a g e | 53
ot, authorisation was required.
Further, it was put that the
authorisation of 2011 must be read as
limited to competitions in that year, as
evidenced by the fact that a further
authorisation was sought in 2012. The
lack of authorisation specifically
referring to 2013 events, or to the
Hershey Open in particular, has the
effect of her competing being
unauthorised. This, it is contended,
results in automatic ineligibility, which
does not require a decision of ISU or
ISA to come into effect. The
submission was that “once having
breached Rule 102.2 (i), Brooklee is
and will remain ineligible and this
breach will not be capable of remedy.”
The Respondent ISA made
submissions which were adopted by
the Affected Party, Brooklee Han. First
it was submitted that the question of
whether Rule 102 (2) (i) applied to the
Hershey Open should be determined
by reference to the ISU Eligibility
Rules as a whole. Rule 102 (1) (a) (ii)
establishes the purpose of the Rules
and that purpose is clearly related to
“the adequate protection of the
economic and other interests of the
ISU”. Therefore, the argument goes on
to propound that Rule 102 (2) (i)
should be restricted in its operation to
events which might work contrary to
the economic and other interests of the
ISU, in particular, events operating
outside the control of the ISU and its
Member federations, of which the
Hershey Open was not one. Secondly,
the Respondent also contended that it
was not entirely clear that the Hershey
Open was covered by Rule 102 (2) (i)
as it was a Local Competition under
the definition of various Competitions
in Rule 108 and Article 38 of the
Statutes, and therefore governed by
the Rules of a Member (Rule 108(16)).
21. Thirdly the Respondent contended
that if Rule 102 (2) (i) applied to the
Hershey Open, the lack of
authorisation could not lead to
automatic ineligibility without an
appropriate determination to that
effect. Rule 102 (7) (b) invested in the
ISU Council the power to determine
eligibility, and without a decision of
the ISU Council the Affected Party
remained eligible under Rule 102 (1).
Moreover, the Respondent ISA as the
relevant ISU Member had considered
the issue under Rule 102 (8) consistent
with the spirit and intent of the ISU
P a g e | 54
Rules, and of Rule 101 (1) (a) (ii) in
particular and had come to a
conclusion that she was not ineligible,
as communicated in the email of 28
November.
Finally, the Respondent and the
Affected Party submitted that the letter
of June 30, 2011 provided the relevant
authorisation under Rule 102 (2) (i)
for Brooklee Han to compete in the
Hershey Open.
CONCLUSIONS
The correct interpretation of ISU Rule
102 (2) (i) is that it does apply to
competitions such as the Hershey
Open. In its terms the provision is not
restricted to international
competitions. Whilst the use of the
term “ISU activities and competitions”
in Rule 102 (2) does not fit well into
the definitions of various skating
events and competitions contained in
Article 38 of the Statutes and Rule 108,
to restrict the operation of Rule 102 (2)
to unsanctioned events would be to
ignore the natural breadth of the
words “in a Skating competition,
exhibition or tour in any of the sport
disciplines of the ISU”. Moreover,
paragraphs (ii) and (iii) of Rule 102 (2)
deal specifically with unsanctioned
events and competitions conducted by
persons who are not approved by the
ISU, and therefore the inference is that
paragraph (i) extends in its terms
beyond these events and competitions.
This distinction is supported by the
different provisions for re-instatement
of ineligible persons under Rule 103,
where a person who is ineligible under
paragraph (i) of Rule 102 (2) is treated
differently from one who is ineligible
under paragraphs (ii) or (iii). The
latter in fact may not be reinstated.
Also, it is clear that the Members of
ISU, including ISA treat Rule 102 (2)
(i) as requiring authorisation by the
skater’s federation for the skater to
participate in another Member
federation’s events. The circular from
the British federation which is in
evidence makes this clear, as does the
practice which the ISA has followed in
requiring authorisation to be granted
where an Australian skater wishes to
compete overseas. There is no
evidence or explanations from the ISU
to suggest that the Member federations
are incorrect in this understanding.
However, in my view, Brooklee Han
was authorised by the ISA to skate in
P a g e | 55
the Hershey Open in August 2013.
First, the authorisation granted in 2011
was, on its terms, unrestricted, and
there is no evidence to suggest that it
was revoked or expired. The
circumstances surrounding the
provision of a further more restricted
letter of authorisation in 2012 do not
detract from the unrestricted
authorisation granted in 2011.
Secondly, apart from the express terms
of the 2011 letter, this conclusion is
also implicit from the fact that ISA was
informed in March 2013 of her
intention to skate in the Hershey Open
in August, and the question of
authorisation (or any lack thereof) was
not raised then. Thirdly, the assertion
by ISA through its Counsel in this case,
that she was authorised and is eligible,
is not without significance. The email
of 28 November 2013 from the ISA
makes it clear that this is the ISA’s
view.
It is also my view that the submission
that ineligibility would be automatic
upon Brooklee Han competing in the
Hershey Open, if she were not
authorised to do so, lacks support from
the Rules themselves and from the
evidence. Rule 102 (2) itself refers to
the power of the ISU Council to declare
a person ineligible, and Rule 102 (7)
describes the mechanism for this to
occur, where the ISU Council can rule
upon an alleged (my emphasis) breach
of the eligibility Rules. There is, as
would be expected, provisions for the
person concerned to be notified and
given the opportunity to be heard
before a ruling is made by the Council.
This is inconsistent with the notion of
automatic ineligibility. The only case of
ineligibility referred to in the hearing
of this case was one of Evgeni
Plushenko, which was a case where the
Olympic gold medallist lost his
eligibility having skated in exhibition
shows without prior permission from
the Russian figure skating federation.
The ineligibility was effected through
a ruling from the ISU. Sub-rule (8) of
Rule 102 also empowers the “Member
concerned” to consider matters
concerning eligibility “not otherwise
foreseen in the ISU Rules....in a
manner consistent with the spirit and
intent of the ISU Rules”. Although no
details were provided in evidence of
the decision made by the ISA Board of
Management referred to in the email
of 28 November, it is apparent that the
P a g e | 56
ISA has duly considered the Affected
Party’s eligibility in this case, and
made a decision that she is eligible.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport
Ruled:
1. The Eligibility Question referred to
the Court is answered as follows:
Brooklee Han is an eligible person
within by the ISA to the Australian
Olympic C Sochi.
2. The question of nomination is
referred back to the Respondent for
determination with the applicable
nomination criteria.
3. In accordance with the agreement
between the parties, the CAS costs
shall be paid equal shares by the
Appellant, the Respondent and the
Australian Olympic Committee.
Otherwise there is no order as to the
costs incurred by the parties.
P a g e | 57
#8 UPDATES FROM CAS
Image courtesy:www.tas-cas.org
CAS ALTERNATIVE HEARING CENTRE IN SHANGHAI TO HOST THE HEARING IN THE ARBITRATION BETWEEN FIFA, KOREA
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION & KANG SOO II The Fédération Internationale de
Football Association (FIFA) has filed
an appeal at the Court of Arbitration
for Sport (CAS) against the Korea
Football Association (KFA) and the
Korean football player Kang Soo II in
relation to the decision issued by the
Disciplinary Committee of the Korea
Football Association on 12 August
2015 in which the athlete was found to
have committed an anti-doping rule
violation and received a 6 month
period of ineligibility. In its appeal to
the CAS, FIFA seeks to increase the
player’s suspension to two years. The
CAS Alternative Hearing Centre in
Shanghai, China will host the hearing
on 5 February 2016, during which the
CAS Panel in charge of this matter
(Mr. Rui Botica Santos (Portugal),
President, Mr. Efraim Barak (Israel),
and Mr. Peter Van Minnen
(Netherlands) will hear the parties’
arguments. The Panel will then
deliberate before issuing an Arbitral
Award containing its decision at a later
date.
P a g e | 58
THE COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT (CAS) TO SUBSTITUTE FOR
THE ALL-RUSSIA ATHLETICS FEDERATION (ARAF) IN
ADJUDICATING EIGHT ANTI-DOPING RULE VIOLATIONS
The cases of Russian racewalkers Vera
Sokolova, Elmira Alembekova, Ivan
Noskov, Mikhail Ryzhov and Denis
Strelkov who all tested positive for
EPO at the Saransk race walking
centre on 2 June 2015 will be handled
by the Court of Arbitration for Sport
(CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. In
doing so, CAS will act as a sole
instance decision making authority,
substituting for the All Russia Athletic
Federation (ARAF) whose operations
have been suspended by the
International Association of Athletics
Federations (IAAF). The cases have
been brought before the CAS on the
basis of an agreement between the
parties which serves to ensure a timely
resolution of the cases with one sole
instance, and which is backed by both
the WADA Code and the IAAF Rules.
The CAS will put in place a tailored
arbitration procedure in order to
render a decision for each athlete
within a reasonable timeframe. In
addition to these cases, the case of
middle distance runner Ekaterina
Sharmina, who has been charged by
the IAAF with violating the IAAF Rules
through “use or Attempted Use by an
athlete of a prohibited substance or
prohibited method” following analysis
of her Athlete Biological Passport
(ABP), will also be handled by the CAS
but this time as a first instance
replacing ARAF. A further appeal
before a different CAS Panel will be
possible in her case. Two further ABP
cases belonging to middle distance
runner Kristina Ugarova and
heptathlete Tatyana Chernova have
also been referred to the CAS. These
cases will again be handled by the CAS
as a first instance decision making
authority. However, for both of these
athletes, this constitutes a second
antidoping rule violation as CAS
already has pending arbitration
procedures with them relating to
separate matters, although these are
suspended until the outcome of the
ABP cases is known. Finally, it is noted
that the six appeals filed at the CAS by
the IAAF in 2015 against the ARAF
and Sergey Kirdyapkin, Sergey
Bakulin, Olga Kaniskina, Valeriy
Borchin and Vladimir Kanaikin are
close to conclusion. The hearing in the
P a g e | 59
final case of Yuliya Zaripova is being
heard today. The Panel of arbitrators
in charge of these matters will issue a
decision for each appeal in a few days.
FIFA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION : CAS REJECTS JEROME
CHAMPAGNE’S REQUEST FOR URGENT PROVISIONAL MEASURES
The Court of Arbitration for Sport
(CAS) rejected an urgent request for
provisional measures filed by FIFA
Presidential election candidate Jerome
Champagne. On 24 February 2016,
Jerome Champagne filed an appeal at
the CAS against a decision issued by
the FIFA Ad-hoc Electoral Committee
dated 17 February 2016, together with
an urgent request for provisional
measures seeking an order from the
CAS that FIFA be directed, inter alia,
to use transparent voting booths and
independent scrutineers to safeguard
the integrity of the voting process and
to ensure that the vote is conducted in
secret. The request for provisional
measures was rejected by the President
of the CAS Appeals Arbitration
Division. The full order with grounds
will be communicated in a few days.
CAS REJECTS HRH PRINCE ALI AL HUSSEIN’S REQUEST FOR
URGENT PROVISIONAL MEASURES
The Court of Arbitration for Sport
(CAS) issued its decision on the urgent
request for provisional measures filed
by HRH Prince Ali Al Hussein of
Jordan. The request for provisional
measures has been rejected by the
President of the CAS Appeals
Arbitration Division. The full order
with grounds will be communicated in
a few days. On 22 February 2016, HRH
Prince Ali Al Hussein filed an appeal
against a decision taken by the FIFA
Ad-hoc Electoral Committee dated 15
February 2016 in which it declined to
incorporate the use of transparent
voting booths for the upcoming FIFA
Presidential Election. In an urgent
request for provisional measures, HRH
Prince Ali Al Hussein sought an order
that FIFA be directed to use
transparent voting booths, as well as
independent scrutineers, in order to
safeguard the integrity of the voting
process and to ensure that the vote is
conducted in secret. In addition, HRH
Prince Ali Al Hussein also asked for
the FIFA Presidential Election to be
postponed in the event the CAS could
not rule on the request for provisional
P a g e | 60
measures before the election, but this request is now moot.
MICHEL PLATINI FILES AN APPEAL AT THE COURT OF ARBITRATION
FOR SPORT (CAS)
Michel Platini has filed an appeal at
the Court of Arbitration for Sport
(CAS) against the decision issued by
the FIFA Appeal Committee on 24
February 2016. In appealing to the
CAS, Michel Platini seeks to annul the
decisions taken by the Adjudicatory
Chamber of the FIFA Ethics
Committee and by the FIFA Appeal
Committee which lead to him being
declared ineligible to take part in
football-related activity at national and
international level for six years.
A CAS arbitration procedure is in
progress. First, the parties will
exchange written submissions and a
panel of three arbitrators will be
constituted.
The Panel will then issue directions
with respect to the holding of a
hearing. Following the hearing, the
Panel will deliberate and on a later
date, it will issue a decision in the form
of an Arbitral Award.
P a g e | 61
LIST OF HEARINGS THIS MONTH
14 March 2016
CAS 2015/A/4222 ItCF, CONI, BOA, BC v. ICF, RCF, ROC, DNOC, DCF, CNOSF,
FFCK
16 March 2016
CAS 2015/A/4206 Hapoel Beer Sheva FC v. Ibrahim Abdul Razak
CAS 2015/A/4209 Ibrahim Abdul Razak v. Hapoel Beer Sheva FC
CAS 2015/A/4355 Jonas Legaard Andersen & Anti-Doping Denmark v. International
Paralympic Committee
17 March 2016
CAS 2015/A/4299 Hady Khaled Mohamed Hussein v. Egyptian Anti-doping
Organization
18 March 2016
CAS 2015/A/4274 Anatoli Gantvarg v. Fédération Mondiale du Jeu de Dames
21 March 2016
CAS 2015/A/4231 Piotr Gadomski v. Professional Tennis Integrity Officers
23 March 2016
CAS 2015/A/4324 Jean-Michel Rodriguez v. Swiss Olympic & Antidoping Suisse &
Association Suisse de Football
30 March 2016
CAS 2015/A/4327 FC Dinamo Minsk v. Christian Udubuesi Obodo
7 April 2016
CAS 2015/A/4121 Clube Atlético Mineiro v. FC Dynamo Kyiv
28 & 29 April 2016
CAS 2015/A/3979 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) v.
Athletics Kenya & Rita Jeptoo
P a g e | 62
#9 FIXTURES THIS MONTH
Image courtesy :espnfc.com
MARCH 2016
8TH March-3 April: Cricket - ICC World Twenty20, India
8-9: Football - Champions League round of 16 (second leg)
8-13: Badminton - All England Championships, Birmingham
9: Women's Football - SheBelieves Cup, England v France
10: Football - Europa League round of 16 (first leg)
12: Rugby Union - Six Nations, Ireland v Italy, England v Wales
12: Football - FA Cup sixth round
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13: Rugby Union - Six Nations, Scotland v France
13: Football - Scottish League Cup final, Hampden Park
15-16: Football - Champions League round of 16 (second leg)
15-18: Formula 1 - Winter testing, Barcelona
15-18: Horse Racing - Cheltenham Festival
17: Football - Europa League round of 16 (second leg)
17-20: Athletics - World Indoor Athletics, Portland, USA
18-20: Formula 1 - Opening race of the season, Australian GP, Melbourne
19: Rugby Union - Six Nations final round, Wales v Italy, Ireland v Scotland, France
v England
26: Football - Germany v England, Berlin
27: Rowing - Boat Races, London
29: Football - England v Netherlands, Wembley
APRIL,2016
1-3: Formula 1 - Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir
3: Cricket - World Twenty20 finals (men and women), India
5-6: Football - Champions League quarter-finals (first leg)
7: Football - Europa League quarter-finals (first leg)
7-10: Golf - The Masters, Augusta
8: Women's Football - England v Belgium, Euro 2017 qualifier
P a g e | 64
8-10: Rugby Union - European Champions Cup quarter-finals
8-10: Gymnastics - Mens & Womens Artistic British Championships, Liverpool
9: Horse Racing - Grand National, Aintree
9: Boxing - IBF World Heavyweight Title, Anthony Joshua v Charles Martin, London
10: Cricket - County Championship starts (to April 13)
12-13: Football - Champions League quarter-finals (second leg)
12-17: Swimming - British Championships and Olympic Trials, Glasgow
14: Football - Europa League quarter-finals (second leg)
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#10 ICC REVEALS PLANS FOR EXPANDED BROADCAST COVERAGE
OF THE ICC WOMEN’S WORLD TWENTY20 2016
Image Courtesy : www.icc-cricket.com
The International Cricket Council
(ICC) announced the schedule of
broadcast matches for the ICC
Women’s World Twenty20 India 2016,
which will be played alongside the
men’s Super 10 matches from 15
March. For the first time in the history
of this competition, ICC TV will
produce live broadcast coverage of 13
women’s matches, which, in turn will
be carried around the world by ICC’s
Global Broadcast Partner Star
Sports and other broadcast partners.
In the four ICC Women’s World
Twenty20 tournaments so far, only the
semifinals and final were broadcast
live. In what will be a massive boost to
women’s cricket and exposure to the
women’s event, there will be live
coverage of 10 out of 22 group matches
in addition to the two semifinals and
the final. This expanded coverage is in
line with ICC’s strategic plan to further
promote and publicise women’s
P a g e | 66
cricket, which continues to scale new
heights globally. The ICC is committed
to promoting all formats of the game,
both men’s and women’s. The quality
and depth of women’s cricket
continues to improve year on year,
producing an exciting, skillful and
attractive brand of cricket. The live
broadcast coverage of 13 matches from
the ICC Women’s World Twenty20
India 2016 is part of this strategy and
will provide further impetus to the
growth of the women’s game. The ICC
Women’s World Twenty20 India 2016
will feature the eight sides
participating in the ICC Women’s
Championship along with Bangladesh
and Ireland, which progressed from
the ICC Women’s World Twenty20
Qualifier England won the inaugural
tournament in England but then
Australia won in Barbados, Colombo
and Dhaka to complete a hat-trick of
titles.
The following is the schedule of women’s broadcast matches:
Tuesday, 15 March – India v Bangladesh, Bengaluru (1530) Group B
Thursday, 17 March – England v Bangladesh, Bengaluru (1530) Group B
Saturday, 19 March – India v Pakistan, Delhi (1530), Group B
Monday, 21 March – Australia v New Zealand, Nagpur (1530) Group A
Tuesday, 22 March – England v India, Dharamsala (1530), Group B
Thursday, 24 March – Australia v Sri Lanka, Delhi (1530), Group A; Pakistan v
Bangladesh, Delhi (1930) Group B
Saturday, 26 March – Australia v Ireland, Delhi (1530), Group A
Sunday, 27 March – West Indies v India, Mohali (1530), Group B
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Monday, 28 March – South Africa v Sri Lanka, Bengaluru (1530), Group A
Wednesday, 30 March – First semi-final, Delhi (1430)
Thursday, 31 March – Second semi-final, Mumbai (1430)
Sunday, 3 April – Final, Kolkata (1430)
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#11 OLYMPIC ROUND UP
Image Courtesy:www.olympic.org
Team of Refugee Olympic Athletes (ROA) created by
the IOC
The Executive Board (EB) of the
International Olympic Committee
(IOC) today created a team of Refugee
Olympic Athletes for the Olympic
Games Rio 2016. It will be treated at
the Olympic Games like all the other
teams of the 206 National Olympic
Committees (NOCs). The EB also
approved the operational aspects
surrounding Team ROA. The name of
the team will be Team Refugee
Olympic Athletes Team ROA will get
its own welcome ceremony at the
Olympic Village, like all other teams;
The team will be housed like all the
other teams;A team entourage will be
appointed by the IOC to meet all the
required technical needs of the
athletes, including: Chef de Mission,
coaches and technical officials (as per
official quotas); The team uniforms
will be provided by the IOC; For all
official representations of the team
(including possible medal ceremonies),
the Olympic flag will be raised and the
Olympic Anthem will be played; The
P a g e | 69
team will march behind the Olympic
flag before host team Brazil at the
Opening Ceremony; An adequate
insurance policy will be contracted; A
proper doping control process will be
introduced through the World Anti-
Doping Agency (WADA); and Olympic
Solidarity will cover travel and other
participation expenses for the team
and will continue to support the
athletes of the team after the Olympic
Games.
As part of the IOC’s pledge to aid
potential elite athletes affected by the
worldwide refugee crisis, the NOCs
were asked to identify any refugee
athlete with the potential to qualify for
the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Such
candidates could then receive funding
from Olympic Solidarity to assist with
their preparations and qualification
efforts. Forty-three promising
candidates have been identified, whom
the IOC is now assisting. In view of the
complexity of the process and in order
to allow sufficient time to finalise and
consolidate all the necessary
information about these candidates,
the EB decided today to close the call
for new candidatures. Only under
exceptional circumstances requiring
the approval of the IOC President will
new candidates be considered. “By
welcoming the team of Refugee
Olympic Athletes to the Olympic
Games Rio 2016, we want to send a
message of hope for all refugees in our
world,” said IOC President Thomas
Bach. “Having no national team to
belong to, having no flag to march
behind, having no national anthem to
be played, these refugee athletes will
be welcomed to the Olympic Games
with the Olympic flag and with the
Olympic Anthem. They will have a
home together with all the other
11,000 athletes from 206 National
Olympic Committees in the Olympic
Village.” The ROA team for Rio 2016 is
expected to number between five and
10 athletes. The participating athletes
and the other members of the ROA
team will be named by the IOC
Executive Board at its next meeting in
June this year. The nomination criteria
include sporting level, official refugee
status verified by the United Nations,
and personal situation and
background. Following the approval of
Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s
strategic roadmap for the future of the
Olympic Movement, and in light of the
current global refugee crisis, the IOC
P a g e | 70
created a special fund of USD 2 million
to develop relief projects through sport
in collaboration with NOCs around the
world. The IOC already works with a
number of United Nations agencies to
help refugees around the world. For
the last 20 years, the IOC and UNHCR
in particular have been using sport to
support healing and development
among young refugees in many camps
and settlements around the world.
They have consequently seen
thousands of refugees benefit from
sports programmes and equipment
donated by the IOC.
IOC Executive Board concludes first meetings of 2016
The Organising Committee for the
Olympic Games Rio 2016 gave an
update on the status of preparations.
The delegation was joined by Mayor
Eduardo Paes by video conference,
who highlighted the fact that despite
the current political and economic
climate in Brazil, public support for
the Olympic Games was over 70 per
cent in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The
Organising Committee announced that
they have balanced their budget. The
delivery of all test events has gone well,
and construction of facilities is
progressing according to schedule. The
report also included an update on
water quality testing in Guanabara
Bay, which will switch from monthly to
weekly testing as of May and daily
testing at Games time, according to
World Health Organisation (WHO)
parameters. Mayor Paes assured the
Executive Board that the Zika outbreak
was under control in Rio de Janeiro,
with numerous preventive measures
being taken. Weather conditions from
May onwards with the onset of the dry
season will also help to improve the
situation. IOC President Thomas Bach
underscored the close cooperation
between the IOC and WHO, which has
expressed its confidence in safe and
successful Olympic Games this August.
The Executive Board was reassured
that Metro Line 4 linking the Olympic
Park with the rest of Rio de Janeiro
would open in July. A new VLT tram is
currently in the testing phase and is
scheduled to open to the public in
April. The Olympic Village is expected
to be delivered this month. The route
of the Olympic Torch Relay was
presented. The lighting ceremony in
Olympia will take place on 21 April
P a g e | 71
2016 and the flame will arrive in
Brasilia on 3 May 2016 before
travelling across the whole country,
visiting 329 cities and towns. An
update on the Olympic Winter Games
PyeongChang 2018 was delivered by
POCOG Chairman Cho Yang-ho and
IOC Coordination Commission Chair
Gunilla Lindberg. The success of
recent test events was highlighted, as
was the construction of the high-speed
gtrain from Seoul. An initial meeting
was held during the test events
between the Organising Committees
for PyeongChang, Tokyo and Beijing to
discuss cooperation and collaboration
between these Olympic cities. The
Organising Committee for the Olympic
Games Tokyo 2020 gave an overview
of the progress of preparations, which
continue to meet all their milestones. A
contractor has been selected to
complete the construction of the new
National Stadium. The venue should
be completed by end of November
2019. Coordination Commission Chair
John Coates called the success of
Tokyo 2020’s marketing programme
“unprecedented”, with 28 partners
already signed. The selection of the
logo for the Games is progressing well,
with 15,000 entries received from the
public in Japan and worldwide. A final
selection of the logo is expected this
spring.
IOC signs MoU with International Committee of Sports for the Deaf
The Organising Committee for the
Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022
has been established. The EB also
received reports on the host cities of
upcoming Youth Olympic Games in
Buenos Aires 2018 and Lausanne
2020. A recap of the successful Winter
Youth Olympic Games Lillehammer
2016 was also given. EB agreed to
make doping results management and
sanctioning during the Olympic Games
independent by delegating to an
independent body. A new Anti-Doping
Division of the Court of Arbitration for
Sport (CAS) will handle cases from the
Olympic Games Rio 2016 onwards. A
number of other decisions were made
in the lead-up to the Olympic Games
Rio 2016, including the change of
nationalities for 11 athletes. Those
members who had a conflict of
P a g e | 72
interests absented themselves from
these discussions:
Ms Anna BURIAK (Modern
Pentathlon) from Ukraine to
Russia
Ms Lasma LIEPA (Canoe) from
Latvia to Turkey
Ms Otgontsetseg
GALBADRAKH (Judo) from
Mongolia to Kazakhstan
Ms Cansel DENIZ (Taekwondo)
from Turkey to Kazakhstan
Mr Chakir ANSARI (Wrestling)
from France to Morocco
Mr Oliver DINGLEY
(Swimming) from Great Britain
to Ireland
Ms Emily BOYD (Swimming)
from Australia to Great Britain
Ms Iryna KHOKHLOVA
(Modern Pentathlon) from
Ukraine to Argentina
Ms Victoria SOLNCEVA, now
Ms Viktoria Zeynep GÜNES,
(Swimming) from Ukraine to
Turkey
Mr Maksim OBEREMKO
(Sailing) from Ukraine to Russia
Mr Ruslans NAKONECNIJS
(Modern Pentathlon) from
Ukraine to Latvia
In a report on NOC relations, an
update was given on the suspended
NOC of Kuwait. In the context of the
five legal proceedings that have been
initiated by various Kuwaiti sports
organisations in front of the Court of
Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and in
front of the Lausanne Civil Court, the
IOC notes the recent positive
provisional decisions taken so far in its
favour. In particular, the CAS rejected
four Appellants’ requests for a stay of
the challenged decisions pending the
issuance of an award on the merits. On
the sport front, the EB took note of the
technical decision of the International
Boxing Association (AIBA) to remove
the head guards for male competitors
at the Olympic Games. AIBA provided
medical and technical data that
demonstrated that the number of
concussions is actually lower without
head guards. The EB approved a
proposal from the IOC Medical and
Scientific Commission to make it
compulsory for the first time at the
Olympic Games Rio 2016 for all
doctors to comply with the Olympic
Movement Medical Code as a
condition of their registration for the
Olympic Games. Any violation could
lead to the withdrawal of their
P a g e | 73
accreditation. With a focus on
protecting clean athletes, an athlete
replacement plan was approved by the
EB that will see athletes who fail
doping tests ahead of the Olympic
Games being replaced by the next best-
ranked clean athlete. The IOC will
work with each International
Federation (IF) to ensure that the
reallocation process is best suited to
each individual sport. The EB received
a full report on the progress of the
Olympic Channel. Preparations for the
launch of the Channel are going well,
with 51 staff members representing 18
different nationalities already on
board. IOC Athletes’ Commission
Chair Claudia Bokel provided an
update on the recent launch of the
newly revamped Olympic Athletes’
Hub, a digital platform for Olympians
and other elite athletes, and gave a
sneak preview of the IOC Athletes’
Space for the Olympic Games Rio
2016. With regard to the
implementation of Olympic Agenda
2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap for
the future of the Olympic Movement,
the EB heard that all 40
recommendations have either already
been implemented or are in the
process of being implemented. A total
of 144 deliverables are scheduled for
2016. The EB also approved the
operational aspects concerning refugee
athletes who will take part in the
Olympic Games Rio 2016. A
Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) between the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) and the
International Committee of Sports for
the Deaf (ICSD) was signed on 8
March at the IOC headquarters in
Lausanne. The MoU, signed by IOC
President Thomas Bach and ICSD
President Dr. Valery Nikitich
Rukhledev, follows Recommendation 7
of Olympic Agenda 2020, which aims
to “strengthen relationships with
organisations managing sport for
people with different abilities, with a
view to exploiting synergies in all
possible areas including technical
assistance, communication activities
and promotion of events via the
Olympic Channel”. Olympic Agenda
2020 is the IOC’s strategic roadmap
for the future of the Olympic
Movement, which was unanimously
approved by the IOC Session in
December 2014. The IOC will work
with the ICSD to supplement the MoU
by providing athlete support through
the IOC Athlete Learning
P a g e | 74
Gateway and Olympic Athletes’ Hub,
and an implementation model for
the Olympic Movement Code on the
Prevention of the Manipulation of
Competitions. ICSD President
Rukhledev said: “Promotion of the
rights of persons with disabilities is my
life. This is an important day for the
ICSD, with the signing of the
Memorandum of Understanding that
formalises the relationship that we
have had with the IOC since 1955. We
look forward to a strengthened
relationship between our two
organisations in the future.” The IOC
recognised the ICSD in 1955 and has
granted patronage to the Deaflympics
since 1985. The ICSD officially opened
its new offices yesterday at the House
of International Sport in
Lausanne. The ICSD delegation that
visited the IOC headquarters included
ICSD Chief Executive Officer Dmitry
Rebrov and ICSD Board members.
Candidate Cities 2024 deliver vision, concept and
strategy plans to IOC
The Candidature Process 2024 is the
first to be launched following the
adoption of Olympic Agenda 2020, the
IOC’s strategic roadmap for the future
of the Olympic Movement. The new
Candidature Process encourages the
Cities to present Olympic projects that
best match their sports, economic,
social and environmental long-term
planning needs. It calls for the use of
existing facilities where possible, and
provides flexibility for the venue
concept to meet local sustainability
and legacy needs and ambitions. “Los
Angeles, Rome, Budapest and Paris are
all submitting projects fully in line
with Olympic Agenda 2020. It is
impressive to see how they have
incorporated the Olympic project into
the long-term development plans of
their city, region and country. Coming
from different starting points, for all
four there is a clear focus on
sustainable development, legacy and in
particular how the facilities are going
to be used after the Olympic Games.
We are delighted to have four
extremely strong candidatures and
look forward to a fascinating
competition”, IOC President Thomas
Bach said. Jacqueline Barrett,
Associate Director Olympic
Games/Olympic Candidatures,
commented: “Following Olympic
P a g e | 75
Agenda 2020, the Candidate Cities are
making use of an extremely high
percentage of existing and temporary
venues, possibly the most ever. The
plans received indicate very thoughtful
consideration of what the Cities and
their people need for the future. The
IOC has significantly simplified the
Candidature Process, symbolised by
the fact that the submissions arrived
for the very first time on a USB key
only, instead of thousands of pages of
paper documents.” The new
Candidature Process features a
progressive submission of information
to allow planning to develop
organically and at an appropriate pace.
The three stages each address different
elements of the Cities’ proposals:
• Stage 1: Vision, Games Concept and
Strategy (delivered 17 February 2016)
• Stage 2: Governance, Legal and
Venue Funding
• Stage 3: Games Delivery, Experience
and Venue Legacy
The next steps include the analysis of
each City’s file by an IOC-appointed
working group, which will report to the
IOC Executive Board (EB) in June
2016. The deadline for submission of
the Candidature File Part 2:
Governance, Legal and Venue Funding
is 7 October 2016; and for Stage 3:
Games Delivery, Experience and
Venue Legacy, it is 3 February 2017. At
the end of each stage, the EB will
confirm that each City will transition
through to the next stage. During Stage
3, an IOC Evaluation Commission will
make working visits to each City to
study their projects in detail and issue
a final report. The election for the host
city will take place in September 2017
at the IOC Session in Lima, Peru.
First IF Women in Leadership Forum ends in call to
action
The first International Federation (IF)
Women in Leadership Forum
concluded in Lausanne with the
approval of a 10-point action plan
designed to increase possibilities for
girls and women in sport both on and
off the field of play.
The action plan calls to:
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1. Create a Gender Equity Working
Group – which would include
representatives from the International
Olympic Committee (IOC), IFs,
National Federations (NFs); National
Olympic Committees (NOCs), Olympic
Solidarity and the Association of
Summer Olympic International
Federations (ASOIF) – to support
strategies, policies and opportunities.
This group would be created to
monitor and review the progress of the
10-point plan as well as enhance the
communication between all
stakeholders.
2. Promote research to monitor the
evolution of gender equity and drive
best practices. Revisit and consider the
research: “Gender Equality and
Leadership in Olympic Bodies”; and
the “Asset-Based Approach to Sport
Governance.”
3. Request that IFs ensure that
gender equity is included in their
governance principles.
4. Request each IF to nominate an
employee in charge of gender equity.
5. Request stakeholders to develop
recruitment and succession plans
which specifically target and support
female leadership.
6. Request stakeholders to establish
and maintain target percentages
around female leadership. This should
be monitored by the Gender Equity
Working Group.
7. IOC/Olympic Solidarity to
consider more support for projects
targeting women in leadership, such
as:
a. Female Leadership Workshops
b. Training for male leaders around
gender equity
c. Mentoring and coaching support
8. Encourage IFs to develop more
family-friendly working practices for
both genders.
9. The IOC, ASOIF and IFs to work
together to encourage full use of the
Gender Equality e-platform.
10. Respective stakeholders to cascade
the principles outlined in this 10-point
P a g e | 77
plan to national/regional/continental sports organisations.
IOC Statement on the merger of the Korean NOC and
Korea Council of Sport for All
A delegation composed of
representatives of the International
Olympic Committee (IOC), the
Association of Summer Olympic
International Federations (ASOIF) and
the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) met
at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne
with a delegation composed of
representatives of the Korean Olympic
Committee (KOC), the Korea Council
of Sport for All (KOCOSA) and the
government of the Republic of Korea
to discuss and facilitate the ongoing
process of the merger of the KOC and
KOCOSA, in accordance with the
principles and rules that govern the
Olympic Movement. During the
meeting, all parties came to the
conclusion that the merger of the KOC
and KOCOSA will have a very positive
impact, and that is a major and
historic step for the development of
the Olympic Movement and sport in
general in Korea. The parties also
agreed that the merger will be
undertaken in accordance with the
rules of the Olympic Charter. All
parties therefore agreed on the
principle of the merger and on the
procedure and timeframe for the
process, which is to be completed by
27 March 2016. In particular, it was
agreed that the new statutes of the
merged organisation will be finalised
with, and approved by, the IOC before
they are adopted by the General
Assembly of the merged organisation.
All parties will continue to work closely
together with mutual understanding
and in a constructive manner to reach
this objective by the agreed deadline,
for the benefit of the Olympic
Movement in Korea.
IOC shares insights on preventing competition
manipulation with European policy-makers
At a workshop entitled “Developing
European initiatives to fight match-
fixing”, organised by the European
Commission and attended by members
of the European Parliament, IOC Chief
Ethics and Compliance Officer
Pâquerette Girard-Zappelli presented
the angle of the Olympic and Sports
P a g e | 78
Movement on the topic of “Identifying
the risk factors for match-fixing”. The
event took place in Brussels, Belgium,
on 17 and 18 February. Participants
analysed methods to increase public-
private cooperation and discussed a
number of cases involving organised
crime.
IOC partners with European “Keep Crime Out of Sport” project
The European Commission presented
several projects dedicated to fighting
match-fixing that have been granted
EU funding. One such project, of
which the IOC is a partner, is called
“Keep Crime Out of Sport – Together
against sports competition
manipulation”. The 18-month project,
run by the Council of Europe, aims to:
-gather up-to-date information on
match-fixing and betting regulations in
member states;
-help countries to implement the
Council of Europe Convention on the
Manipulation of Sports Competitions
and set up appropriate national
structures through practical and
technical assistance, by way of regional
seminars, study visits and expert
missions;
- promote the international exchange
of information and best practices,
including through a network of
national contact points; and
- promote the signing and ratification
of the Council of Europe Convention.
The IOC was consulted during the
drafting of the aforementioned
Convention and supports national
legislation that enables the criminal
prosecution of those involved in
competition manipulation.
Protecting the Olympic Games
At the upcoming Olympic Games Rio
de Janeiro 2016, the IOC will work
with Brazilian law-enforcement
authorities in a Joint Integrity
Intelligence Unit to monitor all sports
for instances of possible manipulation
of competitions or related corruption.
The IOC’s Integrity Betting
Intelligence System (IBIS), which
successfully operated for the first time
P a g e | 79
in Sochi 2014, will serve as the system
for information and intelligence
exchange between law-enforcement,
sports organisations and betting
operators/regulators. In addition, the
Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will
see the first implementation of
the Olympic Movement Code on the
Prevention of the Manipulation of
Competitions. The Code is a regulatory
framework defining the different kinds
of violations, minimum standards of
disciplinary procedures and the scope
of sanctions. It was published as a
first-of-its-kind in December last year.
Furthermore, the IOC is currently
running a Play Fair Booth at the
Winter Youth Olympic Games
Lillehammer 2016 to educate young
athletes about the threats related to all
forms of competition manipulation.
The Play Fair Booth features
interactive games, workshops and
advice on the Code of Conduct for the
Games. Similar activities will be
provided to the athletes in Rio de
Janeiro this summer aimed at raising
awareness of the issue and preventing
unethical behaviour.
Olympic Agenda 2020 focus on integrity
Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s
strategic roadmap for the future of the
Olympic Movement, has strengthened
the IOC’s already strong commitment
to protecting clean athletes and the
integrity of sports. A number of
measures have been initiated and
implemented since the adoption of
Olympic Agenda 2020 in December
2014. These include robust educational
awareness programmes to safeguard
Olympic events from any kind of
manipulation. Together with
INTERPOL, the IOC is currently
delivering workshops around the
world in partnership with National
Olympic Committees, International
and National Federations, law-
enforcement agencies, government
entities and betting regulators on the
risks of manipulation of competition
and related corruption. A new
reporting mechanism for potential
cases of competition manipulation as
well as other violations – the Integrity
and Compliance Hotline – was also
successfully launched last year
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IOC makes doping results management and sanctioning independent
The Executive Board (EB) of the
International Olympic Committee
(IOC) today agreed to delegate the
decisions on alleged anti-doping rule
violations during the Olympic Games
to an independent body. A new Anti-
doping Division of the Court of
Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will handle
cases from the Olympic Games 2016
onwards. The CAS Anti-Doping
Division will replace the IOC
Disciplinary Commission to hear and
decide on doping cases at the Olympic
Games, as well as the subsequent re-
analysis of samples taken at the
Games. The move comes as part of the
Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms, and
follows the Resolution of the Fourth
Olympic Summit to make anti-doping
testing independent of sports
organisations. “This is a major step
forward to make doping testing
independent, following the decision of
the IOC Executive Board three months
ago after the proposal of the Olympic
Summit. It represents support for the
IOC’s zero tolerance policy in the fight
against doping and in the protection of
the clean athletes,” the IOC President
Thomas Bach said. The delegation of
the results management and hearings
to the CAS is another step taken by the
IOC in recent weeks to make the anti-
doping system more independent.
Earlier it was proposed that the World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) lead
intelligence-gathering funded by the
IOC to make testing in the lead-up to
the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
as efficient and independent as
possible. Out-of-competition testing
during the Olympic Games will also be
guided by this intelligence group from
WADA, to make it more targeted and
more effective. The delegation by the
IOC Executive Board to the CAS Anti-
doping Division is pursuant to Rule
59.2.4 of the Olympic Charter. The
IOC Anti-Doping Rules applicable to
the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, Rio
de Janeiro, 2016 will be amended
accordingly to reflect this change.
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#12 OFF GROUND CLASSROOM
WADA : PROTECTION OF PRIVACY AND PERSONAL
INFORMATION ode The International Standard for the
Protection of Privacy and Personal
Information was first adopted and
approved by the World Anti-Doping
Agency Executive Committee on 9 May
2009. The World Anti-Doping
International Standard for the
Protection of Privacy and Personal
Information is a level 2 mandatory
International Standard developed as
part of the World Anti-Doping
Program. WADA and Anti-Doping
Organizations share responsibility for
ensuring that Personal Information
Processed in connection with Anti-
Doping Activities is protected as
required by data protection and
privacy laws, principles and standards.
The main purpose of this International
Standard is to ensure that
organizations and persons involved in
anti-doping in sport apply appropriate,
sufficient and effective privacy
protections to Personal Information
that they process. The following
articles of the Code are directly
relevant to this International Standard
for the Protection of Privacy and
Personal Information:
Article 14: Confidentiality and
Reporting : The Signatories agree to
the principles of coordination of anti-
doping results, public transparency
and accountability and respect for the
privacy interests of individuals alleged
to have violated anti-doping rules.
Article 14.1.5 : The recipient
organizations shall not disclose this
information beyond those Persons
with a need to know (which would
include the appropriate personnel at
the applicable National Olympic
Committee, National Federation, and
team in a Team Sport) until the Anti-
Doping Organization with results
management responsibility has made
public disclosure or has failed to make
public disclosure as required in Article
14.2 .
Article 14.2 : Public Disclosure
Article 14.2.1 : The identity of any
Athlete or other Person who is asserted
by an Anti-Doping Organization to
P a g e | 82
have committed an anti-doping rule
violation, may be Publicly Disclosed by
the Anti-Doping Organization with
results management responsibility
only after notice has been provided to
the Athlete or other Person in
accordance with Articles 7.2, 7.3 or 7.4,
and to the applicable Anti Doping
Organizations in accordance with
Article 14.1.2.
Article 14.2.3 : In any case where it
is determined, after a hearing or
appeal, that the Athlete or other
Person did not commit an anti-doping
rule violation, the decision may be
disclosed publicly only with the
consent of the Athlete or other Person
who is the subject of the decision. The
Anti-Doping Organization with results
management responsibility shall use
reasonable efforts to obtain such
consent, and if consent is obtained,
shall publicly disclose the decision in
its entirety or in such redacted form as
the Athlete or other Person may
approve.
Article 14.2.4 : For purposes of
Article 14.2, publication shall be
accomplished at a minimum by placing
the required information on the Anti-
Doping Organization’s Web site and
leaving the information up for at least
one (1) year. Code Article 14.2.5 No
Anti-Doping Organization or WADA-
accredited laboratory, or official of
either, shall publicly comment on the
specific facts of a pending case (as
opposed to general description of
process and science) except in
response to public comments
attributed to the Athlete, other Person
or their representatives.
Article 14.3 : Athlete Whereabouts
Information As further provided in the
International Standard for Testing,
Athletes who have been identified by
their International Federation or
National Anti-Doping Organization for
inclusion in a Registered Testing Pool
shall provide accurate, current location
information. The International
Federations and National Anti-Doping
Organizations shall coordinate the
identification of Athletes and the
collecting of current location
information and shall submit these to
WADA. This information will be
accessible, through ADAMS where
reasonably feasible, to other Anti-
Doping Organizations having
jurisdiction to test the Athlete as
provided in Article 15. This
information shall be maintained in
strict confidence at all times; shall be
P a g e | 83
used exclusively for purposes of
planning, coordinating or conducting
Testing; and shall be destroyed after it
is no longer relevant for these
purposes.
Article 14.5 : Doping Control
Information Clearinghouse :
WADA shall act as a central
clearinghouse for Doping Control
Testing data and results for
International-Level Athletes and
national-level Athletes who have been
included in their National Anti-Doping
Organization’s Registered Testing
Pool. To facilitate coordinated test
distribution planning and to avoid
unnecessary duplication in Testing by
the various Anti-Doping
Organizations, each Anti-Doping
Organization shall report all In-
Competition and Out-of-Competition
tests on such Athletes to the WADA
clearinghouse as soon as possible after
such tests have been conducted. This
information will be made accessible to
the Athlete, the Athlete’s National
Federation, National Olympic
Committee or National Paralympic
Committee, National Anti-Doping
Organization, International
Federation, and the International
Olympic Committee or International
Paralympic Committee. To enable it to
serve as a clearinghouse for Doping
Control Testing data, WADA has
developed a database management
tool, ADAMS, that reflects emerging
data privacy principles. In particular,
WADA has developed ADAMS to be
consistent with data privacy statutes
and norms applicable to WADA and
other organizations using ADAMS.
Private information regarding an
Athlete, Athlete Support Personnel, or
others involved in anti-doping
activities shall be maintained by
WADA, which is supervised by
Canadian privacy authorities, in strict
confidence and in accordance with the
International Standard for the
protection of privacy. WADA shall, at
least annually, publish statistical
reports summarizing the information
that it receives, ensuring at all times
that the privacy of Athletes is fully
respected and make itself available for
discussions with national and regional
data privacy authorities.
Article 14.6: Data Privacy When
performing obligations under the
Code, Anti-Doping Organizations may
collect, store, process or disclose
personal information relating to
Athletes and third parties. Each Anti-
P a g e | 84
Doping Organization shall ensure that
it complies with applicable data 4
protection and privacy laws with
respect to their handling of such
information, as well as the
International Standard for the
protection of privacy that WADA shall
adopt to ensure Athletes and non-
athletes are fully informed of and,
where necessary, agree to the handling
of their personal information in
connection with anti-doping activities
arising under the Code.
ICC : HOW ARE CRICKET RANKINGS CALCULATED
1. What is a rating?
A rating is worked out by dividing the
points scored by the match/series
total, with the answer given to the
nearest whole number. It can be
compared with a batting average but
with points instead of total runs scored
and a match/series total instead of
number of times dismissed. After every
Test series, the two teams receive a
certain number of points, based on a
mathematical formula. Each team’s
new points total is then divided by its
new match/series total to give an
updated rating. With batting averages,
if you are dismissed in your next
innings for more than your average,
your average will increase. Conversely,
scoring less than your average will
cause it to fall. Similarly, under the
Reliance ICC Test Championship
method, the points earned from a Test
win will always be more than the
rating the team had at the start of the
series. Equivalently, a team
losing a Test match will always
score fewer points than its
rating. So a win will always
boost a team’s rating and a
defeat will harm it. A draw
between a higher and lower
rated team will slightly benefit
the rating of the lower rated
team at the expense of the higher
rated team. A draw between two
similarly rated teams will leave
both their ratings unchanged. A
tied match is treated the same as
a draw for rating purposes.
2. What does a particular rating
signify?
A team that, over the period
being rated, wins as often as it
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loses while playing an average
mix of strong and weak
opponents will have a rating of
close to 100. A rating of 100
could also correspond to a side
that wins more often than it
loses but who has generally
played more matches against
weak teams. Similarly, if the
majority of its matches are
against strong teams, then a
rating of 100 could be achieved
despite having more defeats
than victories. It is quite often
the case that there are a number
of teams in the 90-110 range.
These teams are of broadly
similar standard. A rating above
120 suggests consistently strong
performances. Above 130 is
rarely achieved and suggests a
high degree of dominance over
all other teams. In every match
the total rating points available
equals the sum of the initial
rating of the two teams, so
ratings can be thought of as
being redistributed rather than
created. There is therefore no
‘inflation’ in this rating system,
so a rating of 120 suggests the
same degree of superiority over
opponents now as in the past or
future, and a team can
meaningfully compare its rating
movements over time.
3. How quickly do ratings
change?
The amount by which a rating
improves after winning a Test
will depend on the rating of the
opponent. A win over a much
stronger team (i.e. one with a
much higher rating) boosts the
rating more than beating a much
weaker opponent. Conversely,
losing to a much stronger team
will not cause the rating to drop
too far, but losing to a weaker
side would. It is possible for a
team to win a series yet for its
rating to fall. This will happen if
a stronger team wins a series
but by a smaller margin than the
respective ratings suggest
should be the case. For example,
when Australia played England
in a five-Test series in 2002-03,
Australia needed to win by a
margin of at least three Tests
just to maintain its very high
rating.
4. How is the series result
incorporated?
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At the end of any series
comprising two or more Tests, a
series bonus will be awarded.
Like an individual Test match, a
series can be won, drawn (tied)
or lost. For rating purposes, the
series result is equivalent to the
result of one further Test. To
explain, suppose a team has just
won a Test series. The series
bonus can be regarded, for
rating purposes, as if one extra
Test has been played and won by
the team that has just won the
series. If a series finishes level,
the series bonus is equivalent to
the two teams playing an extra
drawn Test.
5. What period does the table
cover?
The table reflects all Test series
completed since the annual
update made three to four years
previously. This pattern is
repeated each May, with the
oldest of the four years of results
removed to be gradually
replaced with results of matches
played over the following twelve
months. Thus once a year, the
rankings will change overnight
without any new Tests being
played. This process, called
updating the data, takes place at
the start of May each year. This
time has been chosen since it is
usually a relatively quiet time in
the international calendar.
Before 2012, the annual update
took place in August.
6. How are the results weighted?
All matches included within the
Reliance ICC Team Rankings
Tables will always fall into one
of two time periods:
Period One covers the earliest
two years of matches
Period Two covers all
subsequent series, i.e. the past
one to two years Weightings are
applied to these two groups of
series so that the ratings more
fully reflect recent form.
The weightings are as follows:
Period One matches have a
weighting of 50 per cent.
Period Two matches have a
weighting of 100 per cent. In the
current table, series completed
since last May receive a
weighting of 100 per cent. After
next May, the weighting of series
P a g e | 87
being played now will remain at
100 per cent, while the weighting
of series played in the previous
year will fall to 50 per cent. The
‘match/series total’ column in
the Reliance ICC Test Team
Rankings table comprises a
combination of individual Tests
and series. This total along with
the number of points earned in
each period is multiplied by the
weighting factor. For example,
suppose a team played 20 Tests
and six series in Period One, plus
15 Tests and five series in Period
Two. The total matches played
for rating purposes is 50 per cent
of (20+6) plus 100 per cent of
(15+5), which equals 33. (A small
technical adjustment ensures
that, for all teams, the total
number of matches and rating
points is always a whole
number.)
7. How does the system compare
with the current ODI rating
method?
There are a number of
similarities between the
Reliance ICC Test Team
Rankings table and the official
Reliance ICC ODI Team
Rankings table, and these are
summarised as follows:
The underlying formula that
determines the number of points
awarded to each team for its
performance in an individual
match is identical; so as with the
ODI system it takes no account
of the venue or margin of victory
of any match.
A rating of 100 reflects average
performance, so a team winning
and losing a similar number of
matches and playing a broad
mix of opponents will have a
rating close to 100.
The ratings are updated each
May, whereby the weightings
assigned to older matches are
reduced.
The new Reliance ICC Test Team
Ranking differs from the official
ODI rankings as follows: In
addition to reflecting the
performance in every Test, there
is also a series bonus, carrying
the same weight as one
additional Test and awarded to
the winner of a series of two or
more matches.
P a g e | 88
Test draws are treated in the
same way as ties in ODIs, even
though in character they may be
more reminiscent of no results
(especially if interrupted by bad
weather); only Tests abandoned
without a ball bowled would be
excluded for rating purposes.
The ratings are officially
updated after each series rather
than after each Test
The ICC Player Rankings are a
sophisticated moving average. Players
are rated on a scale of 0 to 1000
points. If a player’s performance is
improving on his past record, his
points increase; if his performance is
declining his points will go down. The
value of each player’s performance
within a match is calculated using an
algorithm, a series of calculations (all
pre-programmed) based on various
circumstances in the match.
Test Match Rankings
For a batsman, the factors are:
Runs scored
Ratings of the opposing bowling
attack; the higher the combined
ratings of the attack, the more value is
given to the batsman’s innings (in
proportion)
The level of run-scoring in the match,
and the team’s innings total; an
innings of 100 runs in a match where
all teams scored 500 is worth less than
100 runs in a match where all teams
were bowled out for 200. And if a team
scores 500 in the first innings and 200
in the second innings, a century in the
second innings will get more credit
than in the first innings (because the
general level of run scoring was higher
in the first innings)
Out or not out (a not out innings
receives a bonus)
The result. Batsmen who score highly
in victories receive a bonus. That
bonus will be higher for highly rated
opposition teams (i.e. win bonus
against the current Australia team is
higher than the bonus against
Bangladesh.)
For a bowler, the factors are:
P a g e | 89
Wickets taken and runs conceded
Ratings of the batsmen dismissed (at
present, the wicket of Kumar
Sangakkara is worth more than that of
Makhaya Ntini – but if Ntini’s rating
improves, the value of his wicket will
increase accordingly)
The level of run-scoring in the match;
bowling figures of 3-50 in a high-
scoring match will boost a bowler’s
rating more than the same figures in a
low-scoring match
Heavy workload; bowlers who bowl a
large number of overs in the match get
some credit, even if they take no
wickets;
The result. Bowlers who take a lot of
wickets in a victory receive a bonus.
That bonus will be higher for highly
rated opposition teams
Bowlers who do not bowl in a high-
scoring innings are penalized. The
players’ ratings are calculated by
combining their weighted performance
in the latest match with their previous
rating. This new ‘weighted average’ is
then converted into points. Recent
performances have more impact on a
player’s rating than those earlier in his
career, but all his performances are
taken into account. A great player who
has had a lean run of form will still
have a respectable rating. Players who
miss a Test match for their country, for
whatever reason, lose one per cent of
their points. New players start at zero
points, and need to establish
themselves before they get full ratings.
There is a scale for calculating
qualifications. For example, a batsman
who has played 10 Test innings gets 70
per cent of his rating (i.e. his rating
will be between 0 and 700 points). He
doesn’t get 100 per cent until he has
played 40 Test innings. A bowler who
has taken 30 wickets also gets 70 per
cent of his full rating. He doesn’t get
100 per cent until he has taken 100
Test wickets. This means that
successful new players can enter the
top 30 after just a few Tests, but are
unlikely to reach the world top five
until they have many Test matches
under their belts.
One-Day Rankings
The principles behind the ODI Ratings
are similar to those for the Test
Ratings, with the following important
differences.
P a g e | 90
Batsmen gain significant credit for
rapid scoring. They only get a small
amount of credit for being not out
(because a not out batsman is, by
definition, batting at the end of the
innings when the value of his wicket is
low)
Bowlers gain significant credit for
economy. A bowler who bowls 10 overs
0-10 is likely to see his rating improve
significantly, even though he hasn’t
taken a wicket.
Players lose only a half per cent (½%)
of their points for missing a match for
their country.All ODI matches are
considered equal, except for ICC
Cricket World Cup matches, where
good performances gain extra
credit.Big scores or wicket hauls
against very weak nations get much
less credit than the same performances
against the main ODI countries.
Women’s ODI Rankings
The Women’s ODI Rankings operate in
the same way as the men’s equivalent.
However, statistically there are some
differences between men’s and
women’s ODI cricket, so there are
some adaptations for the women’s
version. The average scores in
women’s ODIs tend to be lower than in
men’s so the points scales were
adjusted so as not to favour bowlers,
and there are fewer women play ODIs
in a given year than men, so there are
typically more men bunched within a
few points of each other in the table
than in the women’s equivalent.
FAQs:
What do the ratings measure?
Think of the Mobile ICC ratings as a system for identifying the players who could be
selected for an ICC World XI if it was picked today. Take a look at the latest top tens,
and you should find that most of the players at the top would be candidates for your
current World XI. The ratings have often been described as a measure of form, but
this is a simplification. A form rating would only look at what a player has done in
(say) the last year, whereas our ratings take into account a player’s entire career –
though they put more emphasis on what he has done recently.
P a g e | 91
How do you decide who is or isn’t included in the list?
Players have to have appeared in a match within the qualifying period to appear in
the lists (normally 12-15 months for Tests, 6-12 months for ODIs). For example, Anil
Kumble disappeared from the ratings lists for a while in 2001 because he hadn’t
played a Test for over a year, but he reappeared as soon as he played his next Test. If
a player confirms his retirement he is also removed from the list. So, for example,
Darren Gough was removed from the Test ratings in August 2003 (though he
remained in the ODI list because he hadn’t retired from that form of the game).
Players are in the rankings as soon as they complete a match. However, we only
publish the top 100 players (at most), so it can take several matches for a player to
break into that.
When are the Ratings updated?
Our normal practice is to update the Test ratings after each Test match (usually
within 12 hours) and ODI ratings at the end of each ODI series. We try not to publish
Test ratings if another Test match is currently in progress. However, if there are lots
of overlapping Test matches running into each other we try to be more flexible so
that the Ratings on the website don’t get too out of date.
What happens to a player’s rating if he plays but does not bat/bowl ?
If a batsman does not bat, his rating is unchanged. We don’t want the ratings to
punish a player when he hasn’t done anything wrong (and it would be tough if, for
example, rain wiped out an innings causing all the team to lose points). The situation
with bowlers is slightly different. If the opposition are bowled out for less than 150,
then a bowler who has not bowled, is not penalised (conditions obviously suited the
other bowlers, and his services weren’t needed).
What does it mean to have, say, 500 points?
Ratings points have a meaning in the same way as traditional averages do. Over 900
points is a supreme achievement. Few players get there, and even fewer stay there for
P a g e | 92
long. 700 plus is normally enough to put a player in the world top ten. 500 plus is a
good, solid rating.
What about ratings for wicket-keepers?
The challenge is to find a fair way of rating a keeper. You can’t just rate him on
catches and stumpings taken, since these are highly dependent on the bowler
creating these chances (how many chances did Warne create for Healy, for
example?). No accurate details are kept historically on missed chances, and in any
case what is a missed chance? Perhaps Alan Knott ‘missed’ chances that other
keepers wouldn’t even have got to. So, as with other fielding skills, we won’t attempt
to produce a rating since we aren’t convinced it would be credible.
Who decides how good the pitch is?
Nobody does. There is a common misconception that there is an expert panel that
sits down to assess the pitch in each match. In fact, all the Ratings calculations are
based purely on the information in the scorecard (as you would find published in a
newspaper). If both teams score 500 in each innings, the computer rates this as a
high-scoring match in which run-making was relatively easy, and therefore
downgrades the value of runs scored. If both teams score 150, this indicates that runs
were at a premium and a player gets greater credit for scoring well in this game.
How do you rate all-rounders?
We have devised an all-rounder index that gives a good indication of who the best all-
rounders in the world are in Test and One Day cricket. To obtain the index, simply
take the player’s batting and bowling points, multiply them together and divide by
1000. So a player with 800 batting and 0 bowling gets an index of zero (because he
can’t bowl and therefore isn’t an all-rounder!), 600 batting/200 bowling gets 120,
and 400 batting/400 bowling points gets an index of 160. An index of 300 plus is
world class. There are far more all-rounders in ODIs than Tests, but the same names
tend to appear high in both lists. Incidentally, this index does omit one important all-
rounder skill, namely fielding. There is no satisfactory way of rating fielding skills
statistically at present.
P a g e | 93
Is it harder to score points against some of the lower ranked teams than
it might be to score points against the higher teams?
Because the ratings take account of the opposition strength, there shouldn’t be any
obvious advantage to playing against any particular team. Of course that’s not to say
that certain individuals do seem to play better against certain opposition or on
certain types of pitch.
What is the best way to determine the “best players of all time”. Can you
produce a definitive list?
The ratings represent a player’s standing have compiled a list of “best-ever ratings”
which are effectively snapshots of greatness. When it comes to judging a player’s
greatness over his career, it’s necessary to look at his entire graph rather than his
peak. It’s not so much how high a player gets as how long he stays there. If you think
of a player’s rating graph as being the shape of a mountain, then the greats will have
graphs shaped more like Kilimanjaro than the Matterhorn. Hence Tendulkar would
be deemed greater than Clyde Walcott despite the latter’s higher peak. One way of
assessing a player would be to calculate his ‘average rating’ over his career though of
course this could penalize a player whose long career included a slow start. So it’s
over to you to make your own judgment by comparing graphs, or by other more
subjective means.
How are the Ratings updated?
At the end of a match, the scorecard is entered onto our computer. The
computer performs a number of checks on the data to ensure that there are no
errors (for example the number of runs + extras has to be the same as the total !) and
then the ratings are calculated. Calculations used to take minutes in the early days of
the ratings. Now they are updated in a microsecond.
P a g e | 94
What happens to a player’s rating if they suffer a long-term injury?
A player who misses a game for his country is treated exactly the same whatever the
reason (injury, poor form etc). In Tests, the player loses 1% of his points for each
match missed, and a similar amount in ODIs.
Why isn’t there a combined Test and ODI player list to determine who is
the greatest all-round cricketer in all forms of the game?
We don’t try to mix apples and pears, though the points scales are similar for the two
forms of cricket, so it would not be completely unreasonable to add together a
player’s points for the two forms of the game to get a grand total. Readers are
welcome to produce their own lists.
How can I tell who is the greatest Twenty20 international player?
Wait till there’s been enough T20 cricket played…
How do you actually go about gathering the data required? Does some
lucky person get to travel to the test arenas?
If only! The ratings are designed so they could be calculated using only the
information that appears on a match scorecard. All of the ratings calculations are
done using desktop technology. Of course as cricket-lovers we do watch cricket when
we can, but that is not an essential part of running the ratings.
FIBA, THE INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL FEDERATION : BETTING AND CORRUPTION RULES
“Benefit” means the direct or indirect
receipt or provision (as relevant) of
money or money’s worth (other than
prize money and/or contractual
payments to be made under
endorsement, sponsorship or other
contracts).
“Betting” shall mean making,
accepting, or laying a wager of money
or any other form of financial
speculation and shall include, without
limitation, activities commonly
referred to as sports betting such as
fixed and running odds,
P a g e | 95
totalisator/toto games, live betting,
betting exchange, spread betting and
other games offered by sports betting
operators.
“Bet” means a wager of money or any
other form of financial speculation;
“Inside Information” means any
information relating to any
Competition of FIBA that a Participant
possesses by virtue of his position
within the sport. Such information
includes, but is not limited to, factual
information regarding the competitors,
the conditions, tactical considerations
or any other aspect of the Competition
of FIBA, but does not include such
information that is already published
or a matter of public record, readily
acquired by an interested member of
the public or disclosed according to the
rules and regulations governing the
relevant Competition of FIBA.
“Participant” means any Player, Player
Support Personnel, judge, referee,
delegate, technical official,
commissioner, jury of appeal member,
competition official, National
Federation team or delegation member
and any other accredited person.
“Person” shall include natural persons,
bodies corporate and unincorporated
associations and partnerships
(whether or not any of them have
separate legal personality).
Manipulation of Results
(a) Fixing or contriving in any way or
otherwise improperly influencing, or
being a party to fix or contrive in any
way or otherwise improperly influence,
the result, progress, outcome, conduct
or any other aspect of a Competition of
FIBA.
(b) Ensuring or seeking to ensure the
occurrence of a particular incident in a
Competition of FIBA which occurrence
is to the Participant’s knowledge the
subject of a Bet and for which he or
another Person expects to receive or
has received a Benefit.
(c) Failing in return for a Benefit (or
the legitimate expectation of a Benefit,
irrespective of whether such Benefit is
in fact given or received) to perform to
the best of one’s abilities in a
Competition of FIBA.
Corrupt Conduct
(a) Accepting, offering, agreeing to
accept or offer, a bribe or other Benefit
P a g e | 96
(or the legitimate expectation of a
Benefit, irrespective of whether such
Benefit is in fact given or received) to
fix or contrive in any way or otherwise
to influence improperly the result,
progress, outcome, conduct or any
other aspect of an Event or
Competition.
(b) Providing, offering, giving,
requesting or receiving any gift or
Benefit (or the legitimate expectation
of a Benefit, irrespective of whether
such Benefit is in fact given or
received) in circumstances that the
Participant might reasonably have
expected could bring him or the sport
into disrepute.
Misuse of Inside Information
(a) Using Inside Information for
Betting purposes or otherwise in
relation to Betting.
(b) Disclosing Inside Information to
any Person with or without Benefit
where the Participant might
reasonably be expected to know that
its disclosure in such circumstances
could be used in relation to Betting.
Other Violations
(a) Inducing, instructing, facilitating or
encouraging a Participant to commit a
violation set out in this Article.
(b) Any attempt by a Participant, or
any agreement by a Participant with
any other person, to engage in conduct
that would culminate in the
commission of any violation of this
Article shall be treated as if a violation
had been committed, whether or not
such attempt or agreement in fact
resulted in such violation. However,
there shall be no Violation under this
Article where the Participant
renounces his attempt or agreement
prior to it being discovered by a third
party not involved in the attempt or
agreement.
(c) Knowingly assisting, covering up or
otherwise being complicit in any acts
or omissions of the type described in
this Article committed by a
Participant.
(d) Failing to disclose to FIBA or other
competent authority without undue
delay full details of
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i. any approaches or invitations
received by the Participant to engage
in conduct or incidents that would
amount to a violation.
ii. any incident, fact or matter that
comes to the attention of the
Participant that may evidence a
violation under this Article by a third
party, including, without limitation,
approaches or invitations that have
been received by any other party to
engage in conduct that would amount
to a violation.
(e) Failing to cooperate with any
reasonable investigation carried out by
FIBA or other competent authority in
relation to a possible breach of this
Article, including failing to provide any
information and/or documentation
requested by FIBA or competent
competition authority that may be
relevant to the investigation.
GENERAL PROVISIONS:
The following are not relevant to the
determination of a violation:
1. Whether or not the Participant was
participating, or a Participant assisted
by another Participant was
participating, in the specific Event or
Competition;
2. The nature or outcome of any Bet in
issue;
3. The outcome of the Competition of
FIBA on which the Bet was made;
4. Whether or not the Participant’s
efforts or performance (if any) in any
Competition of FIBA in issue were (or
could be expected to be) affected by
the acts or omissions in question;
5. Whether or not the results in the
Competition of FIBA in issue were (or
could be expected to be) affected by
the acts or omissions in question.
TENNIS AND ANTI DOPING RULES Anti-Doping Rules are mentioned
under Article 2 of the International
tennis Federation Code. The important
provisions are hereby stated that shall
amount to violation :
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2.1.1 It is each Player’s personal duty
to ensure that no Prohibited Substance
enters his/her body. A Player is
responsible for any 6 Prohibited
Substance or any of its Metabolites or
Markers found to be present in his/her
Sample. Accordingly, it is not
necessary that intent, Fault, negligence
or knowing Use on the Player’s part be
demonstrated in order to establish an
Anti-Doping Rule Violation under
Article 2.1; nor is the Player’s lack of
intent, Fault, negligence or knowledge
a defence to a charge that an Anti-
Doping Rule Violation has been
committed under Article 2.1.
2.2 Use or Attempted Use by a Player
of a Prohibited Substance or a
Prohibited Method, unless the Player
establishes that such Use or Attempted
Use is consistent with a TUE granted
in accordance with Article 3.5.
2.2.1 It is each Player’s personal duty
to ensure that no Prohibited Substance
enters his or her body and that no
Prohibited Method is Used.
Accordingly, it is not necessary that
intent, Fault, negligence or knowing
Use on the Player’s part be
demonstrated in order to establish an
Anti-Doping Rule Violation for Use of
a Prohibited Substance or a Prohibited
Method under Article 2.2; nor is the
Player’s lack of intent, Fault,
negligence or knowledge a defence to a
charge that an Anti-Doping Rule
Violation of Use has been committed
under Article 2.2.
2.2.2 Without prejudice to Article
2.2.1, it is necessary that intent on the
Player’s part be demonstrated in order
to establish an Anti-Doping Rule
Violation of Attempted Use under
Article 2.2. 2.2.3 The success or failure
of the Use or Attempted Use of a
Prohibited Substance or Prohibited
Method is not material. For an Anti-
Doping Rule Violation to be committed
under Article 2.2, it is sufficient that
the Player Used or Attempted to Use
the Prohibited Substance or Prohibited
Method.
2.2.4 Notwithstanding Article 2.2.3, a
Player’s Use or Attempted Use of a
substance Out-of-Competition shall
not constitute an Anti-Doping Rule
Violation under Article 2.2 where the
Use of that substance Out-of-
Competition is not prohibited .
However, if that substance (or any of
its Metabolites or Markers) is still
present in a Sample collected from the
Player when he/she is next In- 6
Prohibited Substance or any of its
P a g e | 99
Metabolites or Markers found to be
present in his/her Sample.
Accordingly, it is not necessary that
intent, Fault, negligence or knowing
Use on the Player’s part be
demonstrated in order to establish an
Anti-Doping Rule Violation under
Article 2.1; nor is the Player’s lack of
intent, Fault, negligence or knowledge
a defence to a charge that an Anti-
Doping Rule Violation has been
committed under Article 2.1.
2.3 Evading Sample collection, or
(without compelling justification)
refusing or failing to submit to Sample
collection after notification as
authorised in applicable anti-doping
rules.
2.4 Failing three times in any 12-
month period (a) to file whereabouts
information in accordance with Article
I.3 of the International Standard for
Testing and Investigations (a “Filing
Failure”); and/or (b) to be available for
Testing at the declared whereabouts in
accordance with Article I.4 of the
International Standard for Testing and
Investigations (a “Missed Test”).
2.5 Tampering or Attempted
Tampering with any part of Doping
Control. This Article prohibits conduct
that subverts or Attempts to subvert
the Doping Control process but that
would not otherwise be included in the
definition of Prohibited Methods.
Tampering shall include, without
limitation, intentionally interfering or
attempting to interfere with a Doping
Control official, providing fraudulent
information to an Anti-Doping
Organisation, or intimidating or
attempting to intimidate a potential
witness.
2.6.1 Possession by a Player at any
time or place of a substance that is
prohibited at all times or of a
Prohibited Method is an Anti-Doping
Rule Violation under Article 2.6,
unless the Player establishes that such
Possession is consistent with a TUE
granted in accordance with Article 3.5
or other acceptable justification.
2.6.4 Possession by a Player Support
Person In-Competition of any
Prohibited Substance that is only
prohibited In-Competition, in
connection with a Player, Competition
or training, is an Anti-Doping Rule
Violation under Article 2.6, unless the
Player Support Person establishes that
such Possession is consistent with a
TUE granted to 8 the Player in
accordance with Article 3.5 or other
acceptable justification.
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2.8 Administration or Attempted
Administration to any Player at any
time or place of a substance that is
prohibited at all times or of a
Prohibited Method, or Administration
or Attempted Administration to any
Player In-Competition of any
Prohibited Substance that is only
prohibited In-Competition, unless the
Player establishes that such
Administration or Attempted
Administration was consistent with a
TUE granted in accordance with
Article 3.5.
2.9 Complicity: assisting, encouraging,
aiding, abetting, conspiring to commit,
covering up or any other type of
intentional complicity involving an
AntiDoping Rule Violation, an
Attempted Anti-Doping Rule
Violation, or a violation of Article
10.11.1 by another Person.
2.10.1 Association by a Player or other
Person subject to the authority of an
Anti-Doping Organisation in a
professional or sport-related capacity
with any Player Support Person who:
(a) (if subject to the authority of an
Anti-Doping Organisation) is serving a
period of Ineligibility; or (b) (if not
subject to the authority of an Anti-
Doping Organisation, and where
Ineligibility has not been addressed in
a results management process
pursuant to this Programme or the
Code) has been convicted or found in a
criminal, disciplinary or professional
proceeding to have engaged in conduct
that would have constituted a violation
of Codecompliant anti-doping rules if
such rules had been applicable to such
Person. The disqualifying status of
such Person shall be in force for the
longer of six years from the criminal,
professional or disciplinary decision or
the duration of the criminal,
disciplinary or professional sanction
imposed.
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CHANGES BROUGHT IN EFFECT FROM 2015
FOR
2015The main changes to the TADP for
2015 are summarised below. Unless
otherwise indicated, they are being made
to implement the changes to the World
Anti-Doping Code agreed by WADA’s
stakeholders at the World Anti-Doping
Conference in Johannesburg in 2013.
A Player who retires and so is no
longer subject to testing must give six
months’ notice of any intended return
to the sport (previously it was three
months) and must make him/herself
available for testing in that period.
WADA has discretion to waive all or
part of this quarantine period in
exceptional cases (on a case-by-case
basis).
The following obligations have been
added to the list of responsibilities of
Player Support Persons:
to disclose prior doping violations
(new under 2015 Code), to cooperate
with investigations ,
not to use or possess prohibited
substances without justification.
A Player now has to commit 3 filing
failures or missed tests in 12 months in
order to commit a doping violation.
(Previously it was 18 months).
New violation of Players knowingly
associating (in a professional or sports
related capacity) with a Player Support
Person serving a doping ban, or who
has been convicted of conduct that
would constitute a violation of the
Code. New discretion to grant a TUE
for use of a prohibited substance
retroactively (i.e., after the Player has
started using it/tested positive for it)
where ITF and WADA agree fairness
so requires.
Disputes between ITF and
NADOS as to whether TUE
should be granted are now to be
resolved by WADA (and
ultimately CAS).
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Where an Event’s rules require a
Player to be at the Event prior to the
day of the first match of the relevant
draw, the Player is deemed to be ‘in-
competition’ from the earlier date.
(This change is not Code-mandated
but comes from TADWG discussions).
A Player does not have to provide
whereabouts on days when he/she is
in-competition, but when he/she is
knocked out of competition, he/she
must update whereabouts filings so
he/she can be found for testing from
the next day until he/she is next in
competition. (This is a 2015 Code
change that confirms current TADP
practice).
ITF will now have results
management responsibility for all
filing failures and missed tests in
respect of players in the IRTP
(previously it was not responsible for
results management for missed tests
attempted by other ADOs). Review
Board process now includes provision
for Player to apply for retroactive TUE
after adverse analytical finding has
been issued.
Provisional suspension is mandatory
if expert panel issues an Adverse
Passport Finding (i.e., a finding based
on a longitudinal profile of the Player’s
biomarkers that it is highly likely the
Player used a prohibited substance or a
prohibited method) and the Review
Board reviews and confirms there is a
case to answer.
New ground for avoiding provisional
suspension: where positive test caused
by contaminated supplement/product.
8.4 Tribunal given express power to
consolidate related proceedings
(change not Code-mandated but arises
from TADWG discussions).
If Player tests positive in connection
with one competition at event (e.g.
singles), disqualification of results
from that competition remains
automatic. Disqualification of results
from other competition at same event
(e.g. doubles) remains mandatory, and
is not at the discretion of the Tribunal.
(By contrast, the Code gives tribunals
discretion to determine whether those
results are disqualified).
Sanctions for first offence increased for
certain violations from two years to
four years, depending on various
factors, such as proof of intent (or, in
some cases, Player not being able to
prove lack of intent). But no longer any
general discretion to increase
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sanctions based on ‘aggravating
circumstances’.
New rules for multiple violations, such
that the ban for a second offence will
never be less than six months. In last
two months of ban or (if less) last
quarter of ban, a Player may start
using official facilities and training
with team/doubles partner.
Right to appeal to CAS extended to
apply to more decisions taken under
TADP. CAS not required to give any
deference to decision being appealed.
CAS decision not to be published if
minor involved.
Statute of limitations for doping
charges extended from eight to ten
years. 16 Anti-doping obligations on
national associations removed to ITF
Constitution.
FIFA : HOW ARE ‘LAWS OF THE GAME’ ALTERED?
The alterations in the ‘Laws of the
Game’ are made by International
Football Association Board. The
Football Association (England), The
Scottish Football Association, The
Football Association of Wales, The
Irish Football Association and the
Fédération Internationale de Football
Association (FIFA), constitute the
Board and each is to be represented by
four delegates.
The objective of the Board is to discuss
and decide proposed alterations to the
Laws of the Game and such other
matters affecting association football
as required to be referred to the Board
after consideration by the Annual
General Meetings or other appropriate
meetings of the associations forming
the Board or confederations or
member associations.
As per the provisions specified in FIFA
Laws of the Game,
Annual General Meeting : Each
association shall forward in writing,
not later than 1 December, to the
secretary of the association hosting the
meeting, suggestions or proposed
alterations to the Laws of the Game,
requests for experimentation to the
Laws of the Game and other items for
discussion, which shall be printed and
distributed not later than 14
December. Any amendments to such
proposed alterations must be
submitted in writing to the secretary of
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the host association not later than 14
January, and such proposals and
amendments shall be printed and
distributed to the associations for
consideration not later than 1
February.
Annual Business Meeting: Each
association shall forward in writing to
the secretary of the host association, at
least four weeks before the date of the
meeting, any proposals, requests for
experimentation regarding the Laws of
the Game and other items for
discussion. The agenda and relevant
papers shall be distributed to all
member associations of the Board two
weeks before the meeting. Any
confederation or other member
association of FIFA may forward in
writing to the Secretary General of
FIFA, proposals, requests or items for
discussion in good time to ensure that
they may be considered by FIFA and, if
acceptable, forwarded to the secretary
of the host association at least four
weeks before the meeting.
Minutes : The minutes of the meeting
shall be recorded by the secretary of
the host association and shall be
reported in the official Minute Book,
which shall be forwarded to the
association next in rotation before the
first day of February ensuing.
Quorum and voting powers : The
business of a meeting shall not be
proceeded unless four associations,
one of which shall be FIFA, are
represented. FIFA shall have four votes
on behalf of all its affi liated member
associations. The other associations of
the IFAB shall each have one vote. For
a proposal to succeed, it must receive
the support of at least three-quarters
of those present and entitled to vote.
Alterations to the laws of the game No
alterations shall be made to the Laws
of the Game except in the Annual
General Meeting of the Board and then
only if agreed by at least three-quarters
of those present and entitled to vote.
Special meetings : The association
hosting the Board meetings for the
current year* shall, on receiving a
written requisition signed by FIFA or
by any two of the other member
associations, accompanied by a copy of
the proposals to be submitted, call a
special meeting of the Board. Such
special meetings shall be held within
twenty-eight days of the requisition
and the associations forming the Board
shall receive twenty-one days’ notice
together with a copy of the proposals.
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Decisions of the Board : The decisions
of the Annual Business Meeting of the
Board shall be effective from the date
of the meeting, unless agreed
otherwise. The decisions of the Annual
General Meeting of the Board
regarding changes to the Laws of the
Game shall be binding on
confederations and member
associations as from 1 July following
each Annual General Meeting of the
Board but confederations or member
associations whose current season has
not ended by 1 July may delay the
introduction of the adopted alterations
to the Laws of the Game for their
competitions until the beginning of
their next season. No alteration to the
Laws of the Game shall be made by any
confederation or member association
unless it has been passed by the Board.
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#13 ICC T20 WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT PREVIEW AND GUIDE
GROUP A TEAMS
SRI LANKA
Squad: Lasith Malinga (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Dinesh Chandimal
(wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milinda
Siriwardena, Dasun Shanaka, Chamara Kapugedara, Nuwan Kulasekara,
Dushmantha Chameera, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath,
Suranga Lakmal.
Sri Lanka is the defending champion of the ICC World Twenty20, after having
won its maiden title in the 2014 edition in Bangladesh. It is also in the midst of a
tough transition phase following the retirements of Kumar Sangakkara and
Mahela Jayawardena. The impact is telling on its performances – Sri Lanka has
won only four of its 14 matches since the historic triumph in Mirpur two years
back. Things have been difficult for Sri Lanka, but with the tournament being held
in the subcontinent, Sri Lanka will fancy its chances of lifting its game, as it has a
habit of doing in big tournaments.
SOUTH AFRICA
Squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien,
Quinton de Kock (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller,
Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, David
Wiese.
South Africa hasn’t won an ICC world event so far, but as on most occasions, it
will be among the favourites ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 in India. The
outfit is a well-balanced one, with a deep batting line-up filled with men who can
clear the ropes easily, a potent and varied bowling attack, plenty of experience in
Indian conditions and a deep desire and hunger to start filling up a bare trophy
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cabinet. The last time the team played a T20I series in India, it emerged
victorious by a 2-0 margin against the home team.
WEST INDIES
Squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels,
Andre Fletcher, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Jason Holder,
Carlos Brathwaite, Ashley Nurse, Jerome Taylor, Sulieman Benn, Samuel Badree.
West Indies has been a Twenty20 powerhouse, winning the ICC World T20 in
2012 and reaching the semi-final in 2014.
Since that loss to Sri Lanka in Mirpur, though, West Indies has played only eight
T20 Internationals, winning four and losing three. The last of them was in
November 2015, and it will be interesting to see how the squad copes with the lack
of match practice when compared to some of its opponents.
ENGLAND
Squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Steven
Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes,
Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey.
It’s the only world event the England men’s team has won to date, a stirring and
unlikely victory in the 2010 edition of the ICC World Twenty20 in the West
Indies. The star of England’s run to the title that year was undoubtedly Kevin
Pietersen, who hit two half-centuries on his way to 248 runs at an average of
62.00 and a strike rate of 137.77, with Craig Kieswetter chipping in with 222 runs
at 31.71 and a strike rate of 116.84. Graeme Swann’s bowling – 10 wickets at an
economy rate of 6.54 over in seven matches – played no mean part either.
A lot has changed in England cricket since that win, and before the ICC World
Twenty20 2016, the team looks good for the shortest format of the game, with a
line-up of good, clean, solid hitters and a bowling attack with quite a few short-
format specialists and a nice mix of different styles.
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AFGHANISTAN
Squad: Asghar Stanikzai (capt), Mohammad Shahzad (vice-capt,wk), Noor Ali
Zadran, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Sadiq, Shafiqullah, Rashid Khan,
Amir Hamza, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Samiullah
Shenwari, Najibullah Zadran, Hamid Hassan.
Afghanistan has come a long way since making its debut in the international
circuit in 2001, and making its way towards top-flight cricket in a fairtytale run.
With a battery of pace bowlers that can trouble the best batsmen, a pool of natural
talent and a never-say-die spirit, it is one of the teams that always has fans
excited. Though it could not qualify to the Asia Cup T20 this year, Afghanistan has
done well in the shortest format of the game recently, winning comprehensively
against Zimbabwe (2-0) and Oman (2-0). Afghanistan made it to the ICC World
Twenty20 2016 after winning three out of six matches in the Qualifiers played in
Ireland and Scotland last year.
GROUP B
INDIA
Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat
Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin,
Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, Ajinkya Rahane,
Mohammed Shami.
In 2011, India became the first country to win the ICC Cricket World Cup in its own
backyard. Given its recent form and the brand of cricket it has portrayed in
Twenty20 Internationals since the start of the year, it will fancy its chances of also
becoming the first team to lift the ICC World Twenty20 crown on home turf. In a well
- structured build-up to the tournament, India has played only T20I cricket since the
end of January, and has stacked up an astonishing record under Mahendra Singh
Dhoni. After sweeping Australia 3-0 Down Under, it bounced back from the loss of
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the first match to defeat Sri Lanka at home 2-1 and rounded off its preparations by
scything through the Asia Cup draw, winning all five matches on its way to the title.
NEW ZEALAND
Squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Ross Taylor (vice-capt), Corey Anderson, Trent
Boult, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, Colin
Munro, Nathan McCullum, Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner,
Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.
New Zealand weren’t, as so often, underdogs for the ICC Cricket World Cup in
2015, when conditions and an adventurous captain in Brendon McCullum made it
a favourite to take home the big prize. Now, with the team on foreign shores and
McCullum having bid adieu, the label is back in place.
Interestingly, while most of the other Super 10 teams have been playing various
Twenty20 International games to gear up for the marquee tournament, New
Zealand's last outing was a Test series, followed by a two-week break. There could
be some rustiness as a result, but Kane Williamson's men are unlikely to concern
themselves with the variables beyond their control. Like its captain, New Zealand
is quietly determined and could spring some surprises.
PAKISTAN
Squad: Shahid Afridi (capt), Anwar Ali, Imad Wasim, Khalid Latif, Ahmed
Shehzad, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad
Nawaz, Mohammad Sami, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik,
Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz.
Pakistan's traditional unpredictability has made it successful in the 20-over game,
a format where anything can happen. The team has provided fans some
entertaining World T20 moments, from a bowl-out in only its second World T20
game, to a thrilling 2007 final, to scalping 5 Australian wickets in the last over of
the 2010 group game, and a cracker of a century from Ahmed Shehzad in 2014.
The glittering jewel of all is its ICC World T20 2009 title.
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With the competition being held in familiar subcontinental conditions this time
around, Shahid Afridi's side will be hoping to go far and repeat that success.
AUSTRALIA
Squad: Steve Smith (capt), David Warner (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Nathan
Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazelwood,
Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill, Andrew Tye, Shane
Watson, Adam Zampa.
Australia has been the most successful side at the World Cup, having won the trophy
four times: In 1987, and then a hat-trick of wins in 1999, 2003 and 2007.
Not surprisingly, it is one of the most successful One-Day International teams in the
World Cup. They are cricket’s pre-eminent side in all formats but Twenty20 and you
do not need to have just tuned in to their last five games (all lost) to know this. No
the truth of their performance in Twenty20 was articulated by Shane Watson after a
chastening 3-0 series loss to India at home: they have simply never known their best
XI in the format and even if they have, have not stuck with it long enough.
BANGLADESH
Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad
Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir
Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Arafat Sunny,
Abu Hider, Nurul Hasan.
Bangladesh’s dramatic turnaround in the last couple of years is well chronicled.
Once considered the whipping boys of cricket, their progress as a One-Day
International side in the 2015-16 season has been phenomenal, and it would be
hoping to replicate the formula in the game’s shortest format as well, with a good
showing in the ICC World Twenty 2016. Bangladesh surprised many by knocking
out England in the ICC World Cup 2015, advancing to the quarterfinals for the
first time. It ensured the victory against England was no flash in the pan, and has
since inflicted ODI series defeats on Pakistan, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe
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and qualified through to the Asia Cup T20 final on the back of wins over United
Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Group A – Women – Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri
Lanka
Australia - Meg Lanning (capt); Kristen Beams; Alex Blackwell; Lauren Cheatle;
Sarah Coyte; Rene Farrell; Holly Ferling; Grace Harris; Alyssa Healy; Jess
Jonassen; Beth Mooney; Erin Osborne; Ellyse Perry; Megan Schutt and Elyse
Villani.
Ireland – Isobel Joyce (capt); Catherine Dalton; Laura Delany; Kim Garth;
Jennifer Gray; Cecelia Joyce; Shauna Kavanagh; Amy Kenealy; Robyn Lewis; Gaby
Lewis; Kate McKenna; Ciara Metcalfe; Lucy O'Reilly; Clare Shillington and Mary
Waldron.
New Zealand - Suzie Bates (capt.); Erin Bermingham; Sophie Devine; Leigh
Kasperek; Felicity Leydon-Davis; Katey Martin; Sara McGlashan; Thamsyn
Newton; Morna Nielsen; Katie Perkins; Anna Peterson; Rachel Priest; Hannah
Rowe; Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu.
South Africa - Mignon du Preez (capt.); Trisha Chetty; Moseline Daniels;
Dinesha Devnarain; Yolani Fourie; Shabnim Ismail; Marizanne Kapp; Ayabonga
Khaka; Odine Kirsten; Masabata Klaas; Lizelle Lee; Matshipi Marcia; Sune Luus;
Chloe Tryon and Dane Van Niekerk.
Sri Lanka - Shashikala Siriwardene (capt.); Chamari Atapattu; Sugandika
Kumari; Nipuni Hansika; Ama Kanchana; Hansima Karunaratne; Eshani
Kaushalya; Harshitha Madavi; Dilani Manodara; Yasoda Mendis; Udeshika
Prabodhani; Oshadi Ranasinghe; Inoka Ranaweera; Nilakshi de Silva and
Prasadini Weerakkody.
Group B – Women – Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, West Indies
Bangladesh – Jahanara Alam (capt.); Ayasha Rahman; Fahima Khatun; Fargana
Hoque; Khadiza Tul Kubra; Lata Mondal; Nahida Akhter; Nigar Sultana; Panna
Ghosh; Ritu Moni; Rumana Ahmed; Salma Khatun; Sanjida Islam; Shaila Sharmin
and Sharmin Akhter.
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England – Charlotte Edwards (capt.); Tamsin Beaumont; Katherine Brunt;
Georgia Elwiss; Natasha Farrant; Lydia Greenway; Rebecca Grundy; Jenny Gunn;
Danielle Hazell; Amy Jones; Heather Knight; Natalie Sciver; Anya Shrubsole;
Sarah Taylor and Danielle Wyatt.
India – Mithali Raj (capt), Ekta Bisht; Rajeshwari Gayakwad; Jhulan Goswami;
Thirush Kamini; Harmanpreet Kaur; Veda Krishnamurthy; Smriti Mandhana;
Niranjana Nagarajan; Shikha Pandey; Anuja Patil; Deepti Sharma; Vellaswamy
Vanitha; Sushma Verma and Poonam Yadav.
Pakistan – Sana Mir (capt.); Aliya Riaz; Anam Amin; Asmavia Iqbal; Nahida
Khan; Bismah Maroof; Iram Javed; Javeria Wadood; Muneeba Ali Siddiqui; Nida
Dar; Sadia Yousuf; Sania Khan; Sidra Ameen; Sidra Nawaz and Nain Abidi.
West Indies – Stafanie Taylor (capt.); Merissa Aguilleira; Shemaine Campbelle;
Shamilia Connell; Britney Cooper; Deandra Dottin; Afy Fletcher; Stacy-Ann King;
Kyshona Knight; Kycia Knight; Hayley Matthews; Anisa Mohammed; Shaquana
Quintyne; Shakera Selman and Tremayne Smartt.
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#14 PLAWYERED MONTHLY ROUNDUP
Image courtesy:www.telegraph.co.uk
New Knockout Qualifying System Gets Green Light
Formula One bosses approved on
Friday a new format to qualifying for
this year's world championship,
despite some driver reservations. The
new format will see drivers eliminated
one by one in a type of knockout
format that will see its debut at the
opening race of the season in
Melbourne on March 20. Qualifying
will remain split into three segments
as before but rather than a block of
drivers being eliminated at the end of
each session, they will go one by one.
The first segment will last 16 minutes
and after seven minutes the slowest
driver will take no further part in the
session. Every 90 seconds thereafter,
the slowest driver will be knocked out
until there are only 15 remaining. A 15-
minute second segment follows a
similar pattern with the slowest driver
eliminated after six minutes and then a
further driver knocked out at 90-
second intervals. The final block will
last 14 minutes with knockouts
beginning after five minutes until the
two final drivers are left to fight it out
for pole position. The format was
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approved by the World Motor Sport
Council having previously been
unanimously accepted by the F1
Commission. The aim of the changes is
to improve the spectacle of qualifying
for the fans but not all drivers have
been seduced.
IAAF: No Reinstatement For Russian Track And Field
Athletes at This Stage Russia still has "significant work" to do
to repair its anti-doping program
before its track and field athletes can
be considered for reinstatement ahead
of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the
IAAF said Friday. The sport's world
governing body said Russia has made
progress but not yet done enough to
meet the conditions for readmission to
global track and field competition. The
IAAF will meet again in May for what
likely will be a final decision on
Russia's eligibility for the games in
August. IAAF President Sebastian Coe
made the announcement at the end of
a two-day council meeting in Monaco,
where officials examined the efforts of
the Russian federation - known as
RUSAF - to reform its anti-doping
system. The next meeting will be held
on an unspecified date in May, three
months before the Olympics. Mikhail
Butov, the secretary general of Russia's
track federation who serves on the
IAAF council, accepted the decision
and said Russia still has time to fulfil
the conditions. The IAAF suspended
Russia in November after an
independent report by a World Anti-
Doping Agency panel detailed
systematic corruption and doping
cover-ups in the country, then laid
down a series of criteria for the
Russians to meet before they can be
eligible for readmission. Rune
Andersen, head of the IAAF task force
on Russia, backed Coe's assessment
that Russia still has a long way to
go.The work still to be done centers
around "interviewing athletes and
coaches named in the WADA
independent commission report and
athletes and coaches who have had
anti-doping rule violations recorded
against them. Of Russia's track and
field medalists at the 2012 London
Olympics, eight have since either
served doping bans or are
provisionally suspended. WADA's
initial report was made following
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allegations made in a documentary by
German broadcaster ARD. The
program featured a Russian
whistleblower, 800-meter runner Yulia
Stepanova, who helped expose the
doping scandal. She is hoping to be
allowed to compete at the Olympics,
though not representing Russia.
Stepanova and her husband, a former
anti-doping official, left Russia in 2014
after providing undercover footage of
apparent doping violations for ARD's
documentary. ARD aired another
documentary Sunday, in which
Russian coach Vladimir Mokhnev was
accused of continuing to train athletes
while he serves an IAAF suspension.
The program alleged another coach
offered banned substances for sale and
that the acting head of the Russian
anti-doping agency had allowed an
unidentified athlete to reschedule a
supposedly no-notice drug test. Russia
is not the only country under serious
pressure. Ethiopia and Morocco (both)
need to implement as a matter of
urgency a robust and adequate
national testing program, both in and
out of competition.Kenya, Ukraine and
Belarus have been put on an IAAF
monitoring list for 2016 to ensure their
anti-doping programs are significantly
strengthened and their journey to
compliance completed by the end of
this year. More than 40 Kenyan track
athletes have failed drug tests since
2012, and four senior track officials
have been suspended by the IAAF for
"potential subversion of the anti-
doping control process in Kenya."
Three Ethiopian runners have been
suspended on suspicion of doping
amid a string of positive tests among
the country's athletes. The Ethiopian
Anti-Doping Agency said at least nine
athletes were under suspicion.
2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup bidding process underway
The FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia
2016 may be looming large on the
horizon, but work is already underway
to lay the foundations for the next
edition in 2020. The bidding process
for that tournament recently got
underway, with a deadline of 24 March
2016 having been set for FIFA member
associations to declare an interest in
staging this global showpiece. After
that initial stage in the process,
bidding and hosting documents will be
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sent by FIFA on 8 April to the relevant
associations, who will have until 6 May
to re-confirm their interest in
becoming the tournament’s hosts.
Definitive bids must then be submitted
by 5 August, with the winning nation
appointed in December 2016 by the
new FIFA Council. The 2020 edition
will be the ninth FIFA Futsal World
Cup, which began in 1989 in the
Netherlands and has since been hosted
by Hong Kong, Spain, Guatemala,
Chinese Tapei, Brazil and Thailand. In
that time, futsal has continued to grow
rapidly in popularity around the world,
with the 2016 edition featuring over
120 member associations vying to
qualify for the main event.
Papua New Guinea sanctioned after failing to play Olympic qualifier
The Papua New Guinea Football
Association (PNGFA) has been fined
CHF 10,000 and issued with a warning
following the withdrawal of its
women’s national team from the
second leg of the OFC qualifying play-
off match against New Zealand for the
Women’s Olympic Football
Tournament. FIFA’s Disciplinary
Committee found the PNGFA to be
liable for the violation of art. 6 par.1,
art. 6 par. 3 e), art. 7 par.1 and art. 7
par. 5 of the Regulations for the
Olympic Football Tournaments. The
relevant parties were notified of the
decision on Thursday, 10 March 2016.
Spartak Stadium kicks off separate waste collection in preparation for Russia 2018
As part of preparations for the FIFA
World Cup in 2018, FC Spartak
Moscow and the Russia 2018 Local
Organising Committee (LOC) have
launched a project to separate and
manage waste at Spartak Stadium,
which will host the FIFA
Confederations Cup Russia 2017 and
the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™.
The project is set to get underway on
12 March, when the Russian Premier
League resumes after the winter break
when Spartak face Amkar Perm. The
project is part of FIFA's and the LOC's
Sustainability Strategy for the
upcoming World Cup. The LOC will
share its successful prior experience of
similar initiatives with Spartak
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Moscow, including the Russia 2018
Preliminary Draw in Saint Petersburg
in July 2015. During that event,
around 20 per cent of more than four
tonnes of gathered material was
collected for recycling. A pilot stage of
the project will be carried out in the
stadium's East Stand, which has been
specifically chosen for the task since
this is where the family sector is
situated and where fans sit with their
children. One of the main aims of
Spartak's and the LOC's initiative is to
promote a responsible approach to the
environment among the younger
generation. Separate waste collections
will then be set up throughout the
stadium.
Event Technical Committee Approves Replacement In Australia Women’s Squad For The ICC World
Twenty20 India 2016 The ICC has confirmed that the Event
Technical Committee of the ICC World
Twenty20 India 2016 has approved
Nicola Carey as a replacement player
for Grace Harris in Australia’s
women’s squad for the tournament,
which will run from 15 March to 3
April. Harris is suffering from Deep
Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and was
unable to depart Australia. Carey is
awaiting for her T20I debut but scored
a match winning 36 not out in her first
Women’s National Cricket League
appearance. She had earned a last
minute call-up for the ICC WWT20
2012 when Sarah Coyte fell ill but
didn’t feature in the tournament.
Performances during 2014-15 helped
her selection to Australia’s Shooting
Stars team which played England
Academy in Dubai in early 2015. Carey
also helped Sydney Thunder win the
inaugural Women’s Big Bash League
competition, scoring 168 runs and
taking 16 wickets in 16 matches. Any
injury or illness-based replacement
requires a written submission to the
Event Technical Committee along with
a diagnosis from a medical practitioner
as to the extent of the injury or illness.
Once replaced, a player may not return
to the squad save as an approved
subsequent replacement for another
injured or ill player. The Event
Technical Committee of the ICC World
Twenty20 India 2016 is Geoff Allardice
(ICC General Manager – Cricket,
Chairman), Anurag Thakur (host
representative), MV Sridhar
(Tournament Director), Campbell
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Jamieson (IBC representative & ICC
General Manager – Commercial), and
Ian Bishop and Nick Knight
((independent nominees). Australia,
bidding to win the title for the fourth
successive time, is in Group A along
with Ireland, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
and South Africa, and will open its title
defence against South Africa in Nagpur
on Friday, 18 March.
Bangladesh’s Arafat And Taskin Reported For Suspect
Bowling Actions Bangladesh left-arm spinner Arafat
Sunny and fast bowler Taskin Ahmed
have been reported for suspect bowling
actions during their side’s opening
match in the ICC World Twenty20
2016 in India against the Netherlands
in Dharamsala on Wednesday. The
ICC is working with the Bangladesh
cricket team management to confirm
times for the independent testing of
both bowlers at the ICC-accredited
testing centre in Chennai. The ICC
regulations state “…every
reasonable effort shall be made
for the Independent Assessment
to be carried out and the
Independent Assessment Report
furnished within a period of 7
days from the date of receipt of
the Match Officials’ Report.” Both
players are free to continue bowling
until the results of testing are known.
Racquet firm Head to extend deal with Sharapova
despite the positive doping test report Racquet manufacturer Head plans to
extend its contract with Maria
Sharapova, despite her positive test for
banned drug meldonium.She has
already lost the backing of Nike and
Tag Heuer, while Porsche has
suspended its relationship with her.
Sharapova will be suspended from 12
March and could face a four-year ban
after she tested positive at the
Australian Open in January. Head
described Sharapova as “a role model
and woman of integrity who has
inspired millions of fans around the
world to play and watch tennis. The
honesty and courage she displayed in
announcing and acknowledging her
mistake was admirable. Russian
biathlete Eduard Latypov has been
suspended after testing positive, the
Russian Biathlon Union has
confirmed. The International Biathlon
P a g e | 119
Union temporarily suspended the 21-
year-old after traces of the banned
substance were found in a sample
taken last month.
ICC TV to broadcast under SUNSET+VINE For the first time at a major ICC event,
host broadcaster Sunset+Vine under
the banner of ICC TV will produce live
broadcast coverage of 48 matches,
including all 35 men’s and 13 women’s
matches, which, in turn, will be aired
around the world by ICC’s Global
Broadcast PartnerStar Sports and its
licensees into more than 200
territories. The coverage will include
30 cameras at all matches, including 6
Ultra-motion HawkEye cameras and
Spidercam. Enhancements will include
in-depth dynamic HawkEye packages,
edge detection technology provided by
UltraEdge, augmented reality graphics
and in depth analytics provided by
Cricviz. Following on from its success
at international cricket last year,
viewers back home will be able to hear
the third umpire’s audio during
umpire referrals, providing insight into
decision making using broadcast
technology. Fans will also be provided
with live scores, statistics and other
information vian a fresh and new ICC
graphics package provided by Alston
Elliot. A stellar commentary line up
will complement the new look and feel,
which includes Wasim Akram, Athar
Ali Khan, Russel Arnold, Harsha
Bhogle, Ian Bishop, Anjum Chopra,
Craig Cumming, Daren Ganga, Sunil
Gavaskar, Nasser Hussein, Melanie
Jones, Brendon Julian, Nick Knight,
David Lloyd, Sanjay Manjrekar,
Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Tom Moody,
Shaun Pollock, Ramiz Raja, Michael
Slater, Lisa Sthalekar, Scott Styris,
Shane Warne and Alan Wilkins.
The ICC TV world feed coverage will
begin with an in-depth 30-minute pre-
match show, which will also include
live toss, pitch report, player
interviews and profiles and a match
preview. The programme will be based
around ICC TV’s philosophy of
providing engaging and informative
content, to all cricket fans. ICC
TV will also distribute additional
created content beyond the boundary
to its Broadcast Partners and other
Media Rights Partners, via its Content
Delivery Service. This content will
include action from warm-up matches
and non-televised matches, player
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profiles, team features and other
behind the scenes content, giving fans
an insight to the event like never
before. The tournament is expected to
have the biggest reach ever, with close
to 2 billion fans able to watch the ICC
World Twenty20 India 2016 action
televised by a global compliment of
ICC Broadcast Partners including
ICC’s Global Broadcast Partner Star
Sports (India and Indian sub-
continent), OSN (Middle East and
North Africa), BSKYB (United
Kingdom and Republic of Ireland),
Willow TV (USA) SuperSport (South
Africa and Africa), Fox Sports
(Australia), SKY TV NZ (New
Zealand), ESPN (Caribbean), PTV and
Ten Sports (Pakistan), Maasranga,
GTV & BTV (Bangladesh) as well as
reaching Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Hong
Kong, Fiji, Netherlands, Singapore and
Malaysia. Free-To-Air broadcasters
like Doordarshan (India), SABC (South
Africa) and Channel 9 (Australia) will
add to the reach of the event.
Additionally Highlights of each
televised match will be available on all
the official broadcasters and some
more free-to-air broadcasters around
the world. Fans who cannot watch the
broadcasts live have the option of
listening to live audio commentary on
Cricket Radio, produced by ICC’s
Global Audio Rights Partner, Channel
2, or on the various other official audio
broadcasters – BBC & TalkSport (UK),
Radio 4 (UAE), Karachi 107FM
(Pakistan), Zircon (Bangladesh), SLBC
(Sri Lanka), Guardian (West Indies),
SABC (South Africa). ICC Chief
Executive David Richardson said: “The
ICC with the support of its broadcast
partner Star Sports is committed to
expanding its coverage so that its
events can reach out to its fans as far
as possible. Not only that, through
innovative features and a line-up of
highly knowledgeable commentators,
we aim to bring to those fans who can’t
be at the ground a coverage they have
not experienced before and attract new
audiences. This high quality coverage
will also massively boost women’s
cricket whose 13 matches will be
broadcast for the first ever time.
FIFA steps up prevention measures in the fight against
doping
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FIFA has launched a series of
prevention initiatives as part of its
ongoing efforts to keep football free
from doping. The aim is to raise
awareness among players, coaches and
doctors on the dangers of doping and
provide appropriate educational tools
for doping control officers across the
world. The latest initiative is the
production of two videos clips
following the FIFA Women’s World
Cup Canada 2015™. The first clip is
aimed specifically at female players
with the objective of raising awareness
about anti-doping procedures, while
the second video targets anti-doping
officers and provides a detailed
description of the procedure to ensure
consistent and up-to-date procedures
at all competitions. Another important
initiative is aimed at doctors and
medical staff. One of the modules of
the recently launched online FIFA
Diploma in Football Medicine provides
clinicians all around the world with
comprehensive background
information and guidance concerning
the application of FIFA’s and WADA’s
anti-doping rules. The aim is to
encourage all medical staff to embrace
the relevant information and fully
adhere to the regulations. The other
pillar of FIFA’s prevention work is the
education of players. A key tool in this
respect is World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA)’s Athlete Learning Program
about Health and Anti-Doping
(ALPHA), an e-learning tool aimed at
changing attitudes among athletes.
FIFA calls on all football players to
make use of this important tool, which
provides them with positive solutions
to stay clean. Another important
educational initiative is the ”11 rules to
prevent doping in football” posters,
which aim to raise awareness among
young athletes, coaches, doctors and
parents about the dangers and
consequences of doping. They contain
11 simple messages selected by experts
in anti-doping management in
collaboration with WADA. FIFA has
appealed to all of its member
associations to distribute the posters to
their clubs and national teams at all
levels, while also reaching out directly
to fans and players across the world via
its digital and social media platforms.
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FIFA extends sanctions imposed on 23 players and
officials in Italy FIFA confirmed the worldwide
extension of sanctions imposed on
several officials and players by the
Italian Football Association’s (FIGC)
Sport-Justice Bodies and theCollegio
di Garanzia dello Sport of the Italian
National Olympic Committee (CONI)
relating to incidents of match
manipulation and illegal betting that
took place between 2014 and 2015 in
different Italian football competitions.
Following investigations by the State
Prosecutors of Catanzaro and Catania,
the FIGC opened three disciplinary
proceedings for violations of art. 1, art.
6, art. 7 and art. 9 of the FIGC
Disciplinary Code. As a result of these
proceedings, several officials and
players have been banned from taking
part in any kind of football-related
activities. The sanctions imposed
range from bans for one to five years
and in some cases individuals have
received permanent bans from holding
any kind of position within the Italian
Football Association. The chairman of
the FIFA Disciplinary Committee
decided on 25 February 2016 to extend
all of the above-mentioned sanctions
to have worldwide effect in accordance
with art. 78 par. 1(c) and art. 136ff of
the FIFA Disciplinary Code. The
relevant member associations, UEFA
and CONMEBOL have been duly
notified of the chairman’s decisions.
FIFA will continue in its ongoing
efforts to combat match manipulation
through a variety of initiatives which
include the monitoring of international
betting markets via FIFA’s subsidiary
Early Warning System (EWS) and a
confidential reporting system with a
dedicated integrity hotline and e-mail
address.
Former United Kingdom Hockey Player Appears
Against Sardar Singh in Sexual Harassment Case An Indian-origin England Under-19
women’s hockey player, who had
lodged a complaint against Sardar
Singh of sexual harrasment at
Koomkalan police station on
Wednesday appeared before the
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special investigating team, set up by
the Ludhiana Police Commissioner
Parmraj Singh. ADCP Satbir Singh
Atwal, who is heading the three-
member committee, said that she
appeared before the SIT on
Wednesday and endorsed all
allegations which she had written to
SHO Koomkalan police station on
February 1. She repeated that she was
engaged to Sardar. She also said that
he raped her and forced her to abort
their child. Later, he refused to marry
her. After their engagement, the duo
also visited the Gurudwara Bhaini
Sahib in Ludhiana. It may be recalled
that last week Sardar also appeared
before the SIT and refuted all
allegations made against him. He said
that he had only friendship with the
UK woman hockey player but no
sexual relations. He also said that he
had never made any promise to marry
her. ADCP Satbir Singh Atwal said that
the SIT would enquire further and may
summon the duo again.
FIFA Appeal Committee dismisses appeals from
investigatory chamber, Joseph S. Blatter and Michel
Platini; grants a reduction on sentences The FIFA Appeal Committee, chaired
by Larry Mussenden (Bermuda), has
partially confirmed the decisions taken
by the adjudicatory chamber of the
independent Ethics Committee on 17
and 18 December 2015 regarding
Joseph S. Blatter and Michel Platini
respectively, whose bans have been
reduced from eight to six years.
Following the hearings of Mr Platini
and Mr Blatter held in Zurich on 15
and 16 February 2016 respectively, the
Appeal Committee has decided as
follows:
Mr Platini’s and Mr Blatter’s appeals
are dismissed in respect of
infringements of art. 13 (General rules
of conduct), art. 15 (Loyalty), art. 19
(Conflict of interests) and art. 20
(Offering and accepting gifts and other
benefits) of the FIFA Code of Ethics, as
established by the adjudicatory
chamber. The Appeal Committee
concurred with the findings of the
adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics
Committee in the sense that the
evidence available in the present case
is not sufficient to establish a breach of
article 21 of the FIFA Code of Ethics
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(Bribery and corruption).
Consequently, the appeal lodged by the
investigatory chamber for a life ban
from all football-related activity was
also dismissed. While agreeing with
the principles and arguments
presented by the adjudicatory chamber
in its calculation of the sanction, the
Appeal Committee determined that
some strong mitigating factors for Mr
Platini and Mr Blatter were not taken
into account when establishing the
sanction. In this sense, amongst
others, the Appeal Committee
considered that Mr Platini’s and Mr
Blatter’s activities and the services they
had rendered to FIFA, UEFA and
football in general over the years
should deserve appropriate
recognition as a mitigating factor.
Thus, after carefully analysing and
taking into consideration the
exceptional mitigating circumstances
of the cases, it was determined that a
one-year reduction of the five-year ban
for a breach of art. 20 of the FCE was
proper, and similarly a one-year
reduction of the three-year ban for the
other breaches was also proper. In
summary:
Michel Platini is banned from taking
part in any football-related activity
(administrative, sports or other) at
national and international level for a
period of six (6) years as from 8
October 2015, in accordance with art. 6
par. 1h) of the FIFA Code of Ethics in
conjunction with art. 22 of the FIFA
Disciplinary Code. Furthermore, Mr
Platini shall pay a fine in the amount of
CHF 80,000 within 30 days of
notification of the present decision.
Joseph S. Blatter is banned from
taking part in any football-related
activity (administrative, sports or
other) at national and international
level for a period of six (6) years as
from 8 October 2015, in accordance
with art. 6 par. 1h) of the FIFA Code of
Ethics in conjunction with art. 22 of
the FIFA Disciplinary Code. Mr Blatter
shall pay a fine in the amount of CHF
50,000 within 30 days of notification
of the present decision.
A new home for the FIFA World Cup trophies: FIFA
World Football Museum to open on 28 February Two-time world champions Cafu
(Brazil, 1994 and 2002) and Renate
Lingor (Germany, 2003 and 2007)
have unveiled the FIFA World Cup
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Trophy and the FIFA Women’s World
Cup Trophy at the FIFA World
Football Museum. The trophies will be
permanently housed and exhibited at
the museum, having previously been
locked in a bank vault in-between
World Cups. The trophy presentation
also coincided with the first major
event at the museum: a media day
attended by over 130 representatives
from around the world. After nearly
two years of construction work, the
FIFA World Football Museum will
open its doors to the public later this
month on Sunday 28 February. An
interactive world of multimedia
experiences, the museum preserves
football’s fascinating history and has
over 1,000 objects, 1,480 pictures and
500 videos telling the captivating story
of the international game and the FIFA
World Cup – both male and female.
With unique exhibitions, interactive
stations, a 180 degree cinema, a
dedicated games area and a giant
pinball area, the CHF 30 million
project has been designed to suit all
ages. The trophies unveiled by Cafu
and Lingor will become a must-see
attraction for sports fans across the
globe. The footballers picked the
trophies up at the Home of FIFA
before escorting them to the museum
in Zurich’s Enge district. Only world
champions are permitted to touch the
trophies without wearing gloves, so
they will be kept in glass showcases
within the museum.
FIFA and Thailand sign agreement for implementation
of FIFA 11 for Health FIFA, the Ministry of Tourism &
Sports, Education and Public Health
and the Football Association of
Thailand signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday, 23
February 2016, to promote the ‘FIFA
11 for Health’ programme and to
improve public health in Thailand. The
MoU was sealed by FIFA Chief Medical
Officer and F-MARC Chairman
Professor Jiří Dvořák, the President of
the Football Association of Thailand
Pol. Gen. Somyot Poompunmoung, the
Advisor to the Minister of Public
Health Dr Mayura Kusum, the Deputy
Minister of Education General
Surachet Chaiwong and the Permanent
Sercretary Ministry of Tourism &
Sports Mr Pongpanu Svetarundra
during a ceremony held at the Ministry
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of Education in Bangkok. The MoU
strengthens collaboration in the
promotion and implementation of the
‘FIFA 11 for Health’ programme in
Thailand. It was agreed in principle to
outline the strategy for a ten-year
programme, reaching one million
children per year as from 2019. The
pilot project will commence in June
2016 starting with 18 schools in
Bangkok and then followed by a
cascade implementation. ‘FIFA 11 for
Health’ is a football-based programme
targeting girls and boys between the
ages 11-13 years on how to lead healthy
lifestyles. The programme seeks to
improve the children’s knowledge,
attitude and behaviour on vital health
issues such as HIV, TB, malaria,
diabetes, obesity and hypertension. It
has been a success in more than 24
countries around the world since its
introduction prior to the 2010 FIFA
World Cup South Africa™.
Worawi Makudi banned for three months by FIFA Disciplinary Committee
Worawi Makudi, former President of
the Football Association of Thailand
(FAT) and a former member of the
FIFA Executive Committee, has been
sanctioned by FIFA’s Disciplinary
Committee for failing to comply with a
decision passed by the adjudicatory
chamber of the independent Ethics
Committee. In October 2015, the
Ethics Committee banned Mr Makudi
from all football activities for 90 days.
The Disciplinary Committee found that
Mr Makudi was still involved in FAT
affairs during this period –
constituting a breach of article 64 of
the FIFA Disciplinary Code – and has
therefore decided to ban him from
taking part in any kind of football-
related activity at national and
international level for a period of three
months. A fine of CHF 3,000 and a
warning were also imposed. The
sanction is effective from 22 February
2016, the date on which this decision
was notified. The adjudicatory
chamber of the Ethics Committee,
chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert, has
suspended Worawi Makudi, the
President of The Football Association
of Thailand and a former member of
the FIFA Executive Committee, from
all football activities at national and
P a g e | 127
international level for 90 days. The
ban is effective immediately.The
decision was taken pursuant to the
FIFA Code of Ethics art. 83 par. 1, on
the grounds that a breach of the Code
of Ethics appears to have been
committed and a decision on the main
issue may not be taken early enough.
This decision against Worawi Makudi
followed a request from the chairman
of the investigatory chamber of the
independent Ethics Committee, Dr
Cornel Borbély. The case is now the
subject of formal investigation
proceedings.
FIFA rejects appeal of Belgian club sanctioned under
third-party influence and third-party ownership rules FIFA’s Appeal Committee has rejected
the appeal lodged by the Belgian club
FC Seraing and confirmed in its
entirety the decision rendered by the
FIFA Disciplinary Committee
sanctioning the club for breaches of
the regulations relating to the
prohibition of third-party influence on
clubs and to the ban on third-party
ownership of players’ economic rights
(TPO).As such, FC Seraing is to serve a
transfer ban which will see the club
prevented from registering any players
at both national and international level
for four complete and consecutive
registration periods, starting with the
next period (summer 2016) given that
the appeal of the club had been
granted suspensive effect by the
chairman of the FIFA Appeal
Committee. FC Seraing is also ordered
to pay a fine of CHF 150,000 and has
been issued with a reprimand and a
warning. The grounds of the FIFA
Appeal Committee’s decision have
been notified to FC Seraing today.
Gianni Infantino elected FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been elected as
the President of FIFA for the
remainder of the current term of office
(until 2019) by the Extraordinary FIFA
Congress held in Zurich. He was
elected as the ninth FIFA President
after the second ballot with 115 of 207
total votes. In line with the FIFA
Statutes, the mandate of the new FIFA
President started after the conclusion
of the Congress. At the beginning of
the proceedings, it was confirmed to
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the Congress that 207 FIFA member
associations were entitled to vote (the
member associations of Indonesia and
Kuwait could not vote due to their
respective suspensions). The candidate
Tokyo Sexwale withdrew from the
election after his address to the
Congress. The Extraordinary FIFA
Congress approved a set of landmark
reforms to FIFA’s governance
structure, including improvements to
the governance of global football, a
clear separation of commercial and
political decision-making, greater
scrutiny of senior officials, and
commitments to women in football
and human rights.
Results of the elections for the office of FIFA President:
Ballot 1:
HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein: 27
votes
Shk. Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa:
85 votes
Jérôme Champagne: 7 votes
Gianni Infantino: 88 votes
Ballot 2:
HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein: 4
votes
Shk. Salman Bin Ebrahim Al
Khalifa: 88 votes
Jérôme Champagne: 0 votes
Gianni Infantino: 115 votes
FIFA Congress approves landmark reforms FIFA’s Member Associations approved
a package of landmark reforms that
pave the way for significant
improvements to the governance of
global football, including a clear
separation of commercial and political
decision-making, greater scrutiny of
senior officials, and commitments to
promoting women in football
and human rights. The reforms were
supported by 179 of the 207 Member
Associations present and eligible to
vote at the Extraordinary Congress in
Zurich. The Congress will also elect a
new FIFA President. The reforms were
based on proposals made by the 2016
FIFA Reform Committee and the
subsequent recommendations put
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before the Congress by the Executive
Committee in the form of draft FIFA
Statutes. They represent an essential
step towards the modernisation of
FIFA’s institutional culture in key
areas such as the clear separation of
political and management functions,
term limits, the disclosure of
individual compensation, greater
recognition and promotion of women
in football and a commitment to
enshrining human rights in the FIFA
Statutes. Furthermore, they include
statutory principles of good
governance for member associations
and confederations, such as
compulsory annual independent audit
reports as well as independent judicial
bodies to ensure a separation of
powers on all levels of football
structures.
FIFA Reform Committee proposals :
Term limits: maximum term limits
of three terms of four years for the
FIFA President as well as all members
of the FIFA Council (see below), the
Audit and Compliance Committee and
the judicial bodies.
Separation of political and
management functions: clear
separation of “political” and
management functions. The FIFA
Council (replacing the FIFA Executive
Committee) will be responsible for
setting the organisation’s overall
strategic direction, while the general
secretariat will oversee the
operational and commercial actions
required to effectively execute that
strategy.
The members of the Council will be
elected by the member associations of
the respective region under FIFA’s
electoral regulations, with a FIFA
Review Committee to conduct
comprehensive and enhanced
integrity checks
Concrete steps to increase the role of
women in the governance of football
with a minimum of one female
representative elected as a Council
member per confederation.
Diversity: promotion of women as
an explicit statutory objective of FIFA
to create a more diverse decision-
making environment and culture.
Independent committee
members: key financial decisions to
be made by the Finance, Development
and Governance Committees, which
will have a minimum number of
independent members and whose
activities will be audited by the fully
P a g e | 130
independent Audit and Compliance
Committee.
Enhanced committee
efficiency: reduction of standing
committees from 26 to nine, with
increased participation of the football
community, which will provide
efficiency while ensuring that all
member associations are involved in a
more meaningful and effective way.
Integrity checks: compulsory and
comprehensive integrity checks for all
members of FIFA’s standing
committees, conducted by an
independent FIFA review committee.
Greater transparency and
inclusion through broader
stakeholder
representation: creation of a
dedicated Football Stakeholders
Committee to include members
representing key stakeholders in the
game, such as players, clubs and
leagues
Building on FIFA’s commitment to
human rights, the Executive
Committee has recommended that the
Congress approve the implementation
of a new article to the FIFA statutes
that commits FIFA to respecting all
internationally recognised human
rights and striving to promote the
protection of these rights.
The Executive Committee also
discussed the proposal from the 2016
FIFA Reform Committee to increase
the number of teams at the FIFA
World Cup™ finals from 32 to 40.
There was no decision on this
proposal, but it will be further
debated.
Further key elements of the
meeting:
The Acting President also reiterated
that FIFA has continued to fulfil its
mission of supporting and promoting
the game of football around the world.
In the last six months alone, FIFA has
successfully staged four major
competitions, including the FIFA
Women’s World Cup™, as well as held
the Preliminary Draw for the 2018
FIFA World Cup™, completed
preparations for the FIFA Club World
Cup, which kicks off on in Japan 10
December, and run more than 660
technical training courses and
programmes on development since
the end of May 2015.
The kick-off times for the 2018 FIFA
World Cup™ and the FIFA
Confederations Cup 2017, both to be
P a g e | 131
played in Russia, have also been confirmed.
Asia Cup: Virat Kohli Fined For Showing Dissent at
Umpire’s Decision During India-Pakistan Game Virat Kohli has been fined 30 per cent
of his match fee for breaching Level 1
of the ICC Code of Conduct during his
India’s Asia Cup T20 match against
Pakistan in Mirpur on Saturday. The
player was found to have breached
Article 2.1.5 of the ICC Code of
Conduct for Players and Player
Support Personnel, which relates to
“showing dissent at an umpire’s
decision during an international
match”. The incident happened in the
15th over of India’s innings when
Kohli, after being given out leg before,
displayed dissent by first showing his
bat and then leaving the crease while
looking back at the umpire and
uttering some words that were
contrary to the spirit of the game. On
Sunday, Kohli admitted the offence
and accepted the sanction proposed by
Jeff Crowe of the Emirates Elite Panel
of ICC Match Referees. As such, there
was no need for a formal hearing. The
charge was levelled by on-field
umpires Ruchira Palliyaguruge and
Sharfuddoula, third umpire Enamul
Haque and fourth official Anisur
Rahman. For all first offences, Level 1
breaches carry a minimum penalty of
an official reprimand and a maximum
penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s
match fee.
Everton: Iranian Farhad Moshiri buys 49.9% stake Iranian businessman Farhad Moshiri
has bought a 49.9% stake in Everton,
the Goodison Park club says. Moshiri
sold his stake in Arsenal to business
partner Alisher Usmanov on Friday so
he could buy into Everton, who play
Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-finals
next month. The deal needs Premier
League approval. Providing there are
no problems, it will bring to an end
Everton’s decade-long search for new
investment. Kenwright, who bought
Everton from Peter Johnson for £20m
on 26 December 1999, said he was
prepared to sell as far back as
November 2007. After years of inertia
regarding a sale, there has been a
growing intent to do a deal in recent
months, fuelled by serious interest
from a number of parties. Kenwright
has also been suffering from poor
health and has rarely attended Everton
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games this season. Talks did take place
with an American consortium earlier
this month, although they did not
provide a clue to the eventual outcome.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez
has put together an impressive squad,
including spending a club record
£28m to sign striker Romelu Lukaku
from Chelsea. Silverware continues to
elude them. Everton were beaten by
Manchester City in the semi-finals of
the Capital One Cup last month and
remain without a major trophy since
they won the FA Cup in 1995.
11th Extraordinary UEFA Congress in Zurich The 11th Extraordinary UEFA
Congress will take place on Thursday
25 February at the Swissôtel Zurich,
Schulstrasse 44, in Zurich,
Switzerland. The event starts at
15.00CET and is scheduled to end at
approximately 18.00CET. It will be
followed by a press conference at the
same location. The main items on the
agenda for the 11th Extraordinary
UEFA Congress include:
• Report of the UEFA Executive
Committee and Report of the UEFA
Administration 2014/15
• Financial Report 2014/15
• Budget for 2016/17
• Amendments to the UEFA Statutes
A certain number of seats in the
Congress hall will be available for
media representatives, who will be
able to attend the whole session.
Photographers and TV crew will only
be allowed to shoot/film the opening
speeches and the press conference.
Media representatives are advised that
there is no media working area at the
Swissôtel, and that they should use the
media working area that will be used
for the FIFA Congress, which is located
at the nearby Hallenstadion. The
Extraordinary UEFA Congress will be
streamed live on UEFA.org.
Zika Virus, Power Cuts and Contrasting Weather
Affect Rio Olympics Test Centre
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Contrasting weather — from sunshine
to thunderstorm — coupled with power
failure were what divers experienced
this weekend at an outdoor venue at
the ongoing FINA Diving World Cup
which is also a Rio Olympic test event
and Olympic qualifier. The World Cup
is being staged at the Maria Lenk
Aquatics Centre from February 19 to
24. In total, 272 athletes from 49
countries and regions are competing
for 88 spots in the Rio Olympic diving
competition. The divers also have to
evade mosquitoes in order to prevent
Zika as the mosquito-borne virus is
possibly linked to an increase in a rare
birth defect in Brazil. Staff from 36
departments of the Rio 2016
organising committee will be in action
alongside 462 volunteers. All
operations related to the competition,
services provided to athletes and
officials, security and athlete
accommodation will be tested to an
“Olympic level”. It is the first test event
to feature the National Force and
National Penitentiary Department — a
total of 300 agents from the two
organisations, as well as officers from
the federal, civil and military police,
fire officers and traffic agents, are part
of the test event. The Rio 2016
organisers refurbished the venue for
Olympic diving, synchronised
swimming and water polo. However, it
remains as an outdoor venue, which
provides divers numerous challenges
as the weather changes a lot from day-
to-night in Rio’s summer. It was
observed that the women’s
synchronised 10m platform
preliminary getting underway with
temperatures in the upper 30s and
dazzling sunshine. While in the
afternoon’s final, a thunderstorm
suddenly arrived. However, current
world champions Lui Huixia and her
partner Chen Ruolin were not affected
and took first place with a brilliant
display. In the men’s synchronised 3m
springboard final, the rain stopped but
was replaced by the wind. A total of 12
divers finished six rounds in relatively
cold weather. Chinese pair Cao Lin and
Qin Kai qualified first. In the final, the
pair made mistakes and the German
pair of Stephan Feck and Patrick
Hausding pushed the Chinese pair
down into second place. International
Swimming Federation (FINA) asked
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organisers to put a roof on the outdoor
venue and complained openly about it
to Rio’s mayor Eduardo Paes. The city
declined to spend the money and said
the federation was too demanding. In a
letter to the mayor, FINA said
conditions like those at the diving
venue “will negatively affect the safety
conditions and the level of
performances of our athletes”. FINA
executive director Cornel Marculescu
acknowledged the letter but said that
FINA had to be satisfied with what the
organisers provided. Within the
current conditions, power supply also
gets into trouble. The first two days’
competitions suffered temporary
power failure with broadcast, large
screen breaking off and reporters from
around the world working in a totally
dark media centre. Four-time Olympic
gold medallist Wu Minxia of China
won the women’s synchronised 3m
springboard with her partner Shi
Tingmao on Saturday. “In the first
round of our final, we didn’t even
know the result because the screen
didn’t show it,” said Wu. Brazil’s Zika
virus outbreak has also made athletes
and tourists afraid of visiting the
country. Brazil has 1.5 million people
infected by Zika since early 2015.
While it causes only mild flu-like
symptoms, scientists suspect when it
strikes a pregnant woman, it can cause
her baby to be born with microcephaly
or an abnormally small head.
According to Chinese diving team
manager Zhou Jihong, the organising
committee provided repellents to
teams and also introduced the
information and raised awareness
about Zika prevention. Besides, day-
by-day cleaning inside the venue will
help sweeping the mosquitoes away.
BCCI holds Special General Meeting The Special General Meeting of the
BCCI held at Cricket Centre today,
Friday, 19th Feb 2016 took the
following decisions unanimously:
The Members authorized the Hony.
Secretary BCCI to file an affidavit in
the Hon’ble Supreme Court on behalf
of the BCCI pointing out the anomalies
and difficulties encountered in
implementation of Hon’ble Justice
P a g e | 135
Lodha Committee’s recommendations.
The Members authorized the President
and Hony. Secretary to discuss the
governance and financial restructuring
of the ICC subject to such restructuring
being incorporated in the constitution
of the ICC for permanency. Further the
members also authorized the President
and Hony. Secretary to rework the
FTPs for the period 2016 to 2023 and
ensure equitable distribution of the
matches. The Members approved the
recommendation of the affiliation
committee of BCCI to grant full
member status to Chhattisgarh State
Cricket Sangh. They will be a part of
the Central Zone for all the BCCI
tournaments.The Working Committee
authorized the President and Hony.
Secretary to appoint an agency to
search for candidates for the posts of
CEO and CFO for the BCCI.
Brian Vitori’s Bowling Action Found To Be Illegal The International Cricket Council
today confirmed that an independent
assessment has found the bowling
action of Zimbabwe’s Brian Vetori to
be illegal and, as such, the left-arm fast
bowler has been suspended from
bowling in international cricket with
immediate effect. The assessment
revealed that all variations of his
deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level
of tolerance permitted under the
regulations. Vetori was reported after
the third T20I against Bangladesh in
Khulna on 20 January 2016. In
accordance with Article 6.1 of the
regulations, Vetori’s international
suspension will also be recognised and
enforced by all National Cricket
Federations for domestic cricket events
played in their own jurisdiction, save
that, with the consent of Zimbabwe
Cricket, Vetori may be able to play in
domestic cricket events played in
Zimbabwe under the auspices of
Zimbabwe Cricket. The player can
apply for a re-assessment after
modifying his bowling action in
accordance with clause 2.4 of the
Regulations for the Review of Bowlers
Reported with Suspected Illegal
Bowling Actions.
2.4 Re-assessment of Player’s bowling
action
2.4.1 A Player who has been
suspended from bowling in
International Cricket under these
Regulations shall be permitted under
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the supervision and with the consent
of his Home Board to continue to play
domestic cricket. 2.4.2 Subject to the
provisions of paragraph 2.4.5 and
paragraph 2.5 , a Player who has
been suspended from bowling in
International Cricket under these
Regulations, may at any time apply to
the ICC for a re-assessment of his
bowling action.
2.4.3 Such re-assessment shall be
carried out in the same manner as the
Independent Analysis so that the
purpose of the comparison between
the re-assessed action and the action
of the Player as employed in the
Match in which he was reported shall
be to determine the extent, if any, of
the improvement to his bowling
action.
2.4.4 In the event of such re-
assessment concluding that the Player
has remedied his bowling action and
that his bowling action is no longer an
Illegal Bowling Action the Player’s
suspension shall be lifted and he shall
be permitted to continue bowling in
International Cricket forthwith.
2.4.5 The BRG shall have the
discretion to specify a fixed period
before the expiry of which the Player
shall not be entitled to approach the
ICC for a re-assessment of his bowling
action in terms hereof. Such discretion
shall only be exercised in the instance
of a frivolous application for a BRG
hearing and the maximum period so
specified shall be 1 year.
2.4.6 The Independent Assessment
resulting from the re-assessment will
stand in the place of the original
Independent Assessment.
The test was performed on 3 February
at the Sri Ramachandra Arthroscopy
and Sports Sciences Centre, Chennai,
ICC’s accredited testing centre
.
FIFA recruiting female security officers Safety and security at football events
across the world has always been the
highest priority for FIFA. To ensure
this, the FIFA Security Division is
providing support and expert advice in
security-related matters to host
countries, local security agencies,
Local Organising Committees and
FIFA’s Member Associations. During
FIFA World Cup qualifying matches or
P a g e | 137
final competitions, the assistance and
support provided by the Security
Division can range from reviewing
national security concepts or
operational security plans to
conducting inspection visits and, based
on risk/threat assessments and
operational needs, appointing FIFA
security officers in the venues where
matches or tournaments are taking
place. These assignments may consist
of a four-day mission when appointed
for qualifying matches or up to one
month for one of FIFA’s competitions.
After the new FIFA Stadium Safety and
Security Regulations went into effect
on 1 January 2013, FIFA started to
hold regional seminars across all FIFA
Member Associations in mid-2014 in
order to train national security officers
on the new regulations. So far these
seminars have been held in
CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, AFC and
CAF regions (link to news on
FIFA.com). To continuously improve
the level of service that can be offered
to Member Associations and Local
Organising Committees, FIFA’s
Security Division is currently looking
to enlarge and enhance its pool of
trained FIFA security officers by
identifying, recruiting and deploying
female security officers. By searching
for officers who have a background
and strong experience in the security
field that are nominated and endorsed
by their respective Member
Association, FIFA is looking to develop
a broader base of security officers to
serve domestically and abroad. As the
selected female security officers will be
assigned to FIFA’s competitions, they
will then in return be in able to further
officiate within their Member
Association and even conduct security
trainings back home, which offers a
win-win situation for everyone
involved. When the FIFA Security
Division started the regional seminars
in 2014, all of the candidates that were
identified to meet the requirements
were male. It has always been the goal,
however, to also include female
security officers. This is why FIFA has
now developed a dedicated
identification process through which
all Member Associations have been
asked to put forward applications of
female candidates.
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Iraqi Football Association adopts FIFA TMS’s
Intermediary Regulations Tool The Iraqi Football Association (IFA)
has become the second member
association (MA) from the Asian
Football Confederation (AFC) to adopt
FIFA TMS’s Intermediary Regulations
Tool (IRT).The tool, which is now live
at the IFA and its affiliated clubs, is
designed to assist MAs in complying
with FIFA’s Regulations on Working
with Intermediaries and to facilitate
their ability to gather and track data
which is subsequently to be published
as part of the Intermediary Report by
30 March 2016. FIFA TMS’s
Intermediary Regulations Tool is fully
integrated with the International and
Domestic Transfer Matching Systems.
In practical terms, this means that all
of the information regarding the
transfer of professional players and
related intermediary involvement is
managed via one system. It allows MAs
to create annual reports relating to
intermediary involvement, which
assists them in complying with the
requirements set out in the
Intermediary Regulations. The system
is customisable to meet the needs of
MAs and is available in FIFA’s four
official languages. The adoption of the
IRT will allow the IFA to enhance the
efficiency and transparency of their
involvement with intermediaries. FIFA
TMS expects more MAs to adopt the
IRT in the coming months. Previous
MAs to adopt the IRT include Football
Federation Australia (FFA), the Ghana
Football Association (GFA) and the
Portuguese Football Association (FPF).
Beckenbauer warned and fined by Fifa’s ethics
committee Germany’s World Cup-winning captain
and coach Franz Beckenbauer has
been warned and fined by Fifa’s ethics
committee. He has been provisionally
banned for “failing to co-operate” with
Fifa’s inquiry into the bidding
processes for 2018 and 2022 World
Cups, won by Russia and Qatar
respectively. He was one of 22 men
who voted to decide the tournament
hosts. Fifa says he did not co-operate
during an in-person interview and in
response to written questions.
Beckenbauer, who Fifa said
subsequently demonstrated a
willingness to co-operate, was fined
P a g e | 139
7,000 Swiss Francs (£4,900). Fifa did
not look into matters relating to the
awarding of the 2006 World Cup to
Germany. Beckenbauer was head of
the tournament’s organising
committee which, reports alleged,
made a payment to Fifa in return for a
financial grant. Last year in October,
he had said that he made a “mistake”
in the bidding process but denied votes
were bought. Der Spiegel magazine
had reported an alleged slush fund of
6.7m euros was used to buy votes for
Germany – an allegation denied by the
German Football Association (DFB).
FA agrees to back Infantino for FIFA presidency The Football Association agreed to
back Gianni Infantino’s candidacy for
the Fifa presidency, at a board meeting
on Wednesday. Uefa general secretary
Infantino is one of five candidates
looking to replace Sepp Blatter on 26
February. Blatter, 79, announced in
June he would resign, amid a
corruption scandal at world governing
body Fifa. The FA had supported ex-
Uefa president Michel Platini, who in
December was banned from football
for eight years.
Jatuporn Nalamphun banned guilty of offences under
the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program Unranked Thai player Jatuporn
Nalamphun has been banned for 18
months and fined after being found
guilty of offences under the Tennis
Anti-Corruption Program, according to
the London-based Tennis Integrity
Unit (TIU). Nalamphun, 22, admitted
to three offences of betting on tennis
matches between July and November
2014 and was found guilty of a further
offence of failing to co-operate with the
TIU investigation. Nalamphun has
never held a ranking and his £3,400
(4,366 euros, $5,000) fine is
considerably greater than his reported
career earnings of £476. The initial
ban imposed on Nalamphun was six
months but independent anti-
corruption hearing officer Ian Mill, a
senior English lawyer, extended the
ban after finding the player guilty of a
further charge of failing to co-operate
with the TIU. In a TIU statement, Mill
said that “the full and timely co-
operation by participants in TIU
investigations is of paramount efforts
being made by the TIU to eliminate
corruption in professional tennis.” Last
P a g e | 140
week the International Tennis
Federation (ITF) announced that two
umpires had been banned for
corruption and four more were
currently suspended while under
investigation. Kirill Parfenov of
Kazakhstan was banned for life in
February 2015 for contacting another
official in a bid to “manipulate the
scoring of matches”, the ITF said in a
joint statement with the TIU. Tennis
was also hit by allegations over elite-
level match-fixing made by the BBC
and BuzzFeed shortly before the start
of the Australian Open last month.
After those allegations became public,
tennis authorities announced an
independent review into their fight
against corruption. In a joint
statement, the ATP, the WTA, the ITF
and heads of all four Grand Slam
tournaments said the review was
aimed at further strengthening the
integrity of the game, while calling for
governments worldwide to make fixing
a criminal offence. The priority of the
review, headed by Adam Lewis – a
leading expert on sports law who
works out of the same London
chambers as Mill – is to look at the
structure of the TIU, including how to
make it more transparent and better
resourced. It is expected that the
review will take at least 12 months,
with the publication of an interim
report during that time.
Delhi and District Cricket Association refused to
implement Justice RM Lodha Committee’s
recommendations The Delhi and District Cricket
Association on Wednesday refused to
implement Justice RM Lodha
Committee’s recommendations which
could have direct ramifications on the
functioning of Board of Control for
Cricket in India’s state units. The
managing committee of DDCA met
here to review and deliberate on
various observations of the Lodha
Committee, and was not quite
convinced about most of the major
recommendations calling for sweeping
reforms in the BCCI’s governing
structure. The DDCA is not on the
same page with Lodha panel on major
issues like elections and terms of office
bearers, DDCA office bearers
simultaneously holding a post in BCCI,
proxy voting and conflict of interest
P a g e | 141
among others. On the issue of one
person holding one post, the DDCA, in
a statement signed by vice-presidents
Chetan Chauhan and CK Khanna, said:
“We the managing committee of DDCA
feel that it is the freedom of concerned
state associations, to decide (whether)
the appointment of office bearers
would affect/restrict administrative
function of DDCA or not. So long
members of the executive committee
(directors) do not feel that the
functioning of DDCA is being
jeopardized, there cannot be any
justified reason in imposing this
clause.” The controversial cricket body
is in favour of continuation of proxy
voting. System should be continued as
in many associations, there is a
provision of voting in person.
Associations which are incorporated
under the Companies Act are
statutorily bound by section 176-178 of
the Act 1956. Even after appointing a
person as his proxy, any member
DDCA can come and cast his vote in
person in the General Body
meetings/election. The proxy may be
authenticated by Retired Judge of any
court as is the practice in DDCA. The
DDCA,though was optimistic about
state associations coming under RTI
Act in future, but it rejected the
recommendations on elections and
terms of office bearers. The election of
the office bearers is through a
democratic process as per the
constitution of the DDCA. Any
limitation on its term is not justified.
The committee was of the opinion that
the powers to appoint Electoral Officer
should rest with the Executive
Committee of DDCA as long as the
committee does not observe any
conflict of interest as regard to the
appointed person.
Cooper reported for suspect bowling action in PSL West Indian all-rounder Kevon Cooper
was on Wednesday was reported for a
suspect bowling action in the ongoing
Pakistan Super League in Dubai, the
first instance of this kind in the
Twenty20 league. He is yet to play
international cricket for the West
Indies but had featured in first class
cricket for his native , Trinidad and
Tobago was reported during Tuesday’s
game between Lahore and Quetta in
Dubai. The Pakistan Super League
(PSL) release said Cooper had been
put on a warning list for the moment.
P a g e | 142
Under the PSL Suspected Illegal
Bowling Action policy, if a player is
reported while on the warning list, the
player shall be suspended from
bowling for the remainder of the PSL
tournament and from bowling in any
matches organised by the PCB until
such date as he is cleared or upon
conclusion of any ineligibility period,”
said the release. A player suspended
from bowling may continue to be
selected to play in matches, however,
he will not be entitled to bowl. If
suspended under the PSL Suspected
Illegal Bowling Action policy, Mr.
Cooper will have to go through the
rehab process made applicable by the
West Indies Cricket Board. Cooper was
also reported for a suspect action
during the Indian Premier League in
May 2014 but was later cleared to play.
In June 2014, the International Cricket
Council launched a crackdown on
bowlers with suspect action and some
two dozen bowlers from international
teams were reported.
Sahara to sell Force India India’s embattled Sahara conglomerate
said it wants to sell its 42.5 per cent
stake in the Force India Formula One
team to help release founder Subrata
Roy from jail, but some motor racing
insiders are sceptical about how easy it
will be to find a buyer. Sahara, which
paid $100 million for the shareholding
in 2011, sought the Supreme Court’s
permission this month to dispose of
Force India and other assets to raise a
combined 53 billion Indian rupees
($778.38 million). With Formula One
far less popular than cricket in India,
and Mallya under pressure from
lenders to meet loan repayment
obligations linked to his grounded
Kingfisher Airlines, the stake on its
own could be a hard sell.
Rafael Benitez: Newcastle unveils new boss after
sacking McClaren
Newcastle confirmed Benitez as its
new manager, and three new
backroom staff, on a three-year deal.
He took over at Real Madrid in June
last year but was sacked in early
January. The news came just hours
after McClaren was relieved of his
duties. The 54-year-old has overseen a
P a g e | 143
disappointing campaign in which
Newcastle has won just six matches all
season. It sits one point from safety
and in danger of missing out on a
share of a bumper Premier League
television deal that kicks in next
season. Crucially, Benitez has been
appointed manager, not head coach as
McClaren was, which indicates he will
have more of a say in the running of
the club and especially transfers
P a g e | 144
NOTES AND REFERENCES
NOTES
PHENOMENAL CONCEPT OF SPORTS CONTRACT: PROCEDURES AND PRINCIPLES
1 Thomas v. Leja, 468 N.W. 2d 58 (1991). 1 BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY, 365 (9th ed. 2009) 1 Anish Dayal, Sports Contracts: A Primer, 2 GNLU JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT AND POLITICS , 136-141
( 2010). 1 Philadelhphia Ball Club v. Lajoie, (1902) 51 A Eng. Rep. 973 (K.B.). 1 Los Angeles Rams v. Cannon, 185 F. Supp. 717 (S.D. Cal. 1960). 1 Detroit Football Co. v. Robinson, 186 F. Supp. 993 (E.D. La. 1960). 1 Pasquel v. Owen, 186 F.2d 263, (8th Cir. 1950). 1 J. WEISTART AND C. LOWELL, THE LAW OF SPORTS, 421 (Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc 1st ed. 1979) 1 Restatement of Contracts, Sec 380, Dec.28, 1932. 1 Albama Football, Inc. v. Stabler, 319 So. 2d 678, (Ala. 1975). 1 Hennigan v. Charger Football Co., 431 F.2d 308, (5th Cir. 1970). 1 Gary A. Uberstine and Richard J. Grad, The Enforceability of Sports Contracts: A Practitioner's Playbook, 7 Loyola L.A. Ent. L. Rev. 310, 317 (1987). 1 Brooklyn Baseball Club v. McGuire, 116 F. 782, (E.D. Pa. 1902). 1 Restatement of Contracts Sec. 372 (1932). 1 Connecticut Professional Sports Corp. v. Heyman, 276 F.Supp. 618, (S.D.N.Y. 1967). 1 Connecticut Sports Corp. v. Heyman, 276 F. Supp. 618, (S.D.N.Y. 1967).
REFERENCES
www.fifa.com
www.bcci.tv
www.tas-cas.org
www.bbc.com
www.ndtv.com
www.olympic.org
www.wada-ama.org
www.uefa.org
www.icc-cricket.com
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