Successful Appeal on Breach of Sports Regulations

In March 2024, Jacqui Callan and Chloe Salt were approached by a Rugby Club who were looking to appeal a decision made by the Dispute Committee Panel.

Facts of the case

The facts of the case are, Team A (the Opposition Club) were only able to field 13 players in a league game, Team B (the Appellant club and our client) were correctly under the impression that they should field the same number of players. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) referee informed both clubs that in his opinion, the Appellant Club should field one more player than the Opposition Club and due to his role, both clubs agreed to this, and no objection was raised at the time, and the game continued.

Our client was then notified of the breach 4 days after the league game had finished, pursuant to Regulation 6.87 of the Adult Competitions Rugby Football Union, and this is when they sought legal advice from our firm.

Work conducted

We instructed Phil Gibbs from 1 High Pavement Chambers, who specialises in Sports Law, to provide advice to our client on the grounds for an appeal which was positive. Working collaboratively within this niche area of law, we were able to draft and submit the appeal document to the RFU on the basis that the Opposition Club should have made their complaint within two days, which they did not do. The complaint was therefore out of time and in breach of regulations 6.86 and 6.87.

Outcome

On the basis of our written submissions, the panel decided not to impose any fixed sanctions on our client, no extra points were to be given to Team A and our client were able to keep the bonus points they were awarded.
If you have a similar enquiry you would like advice from specialist sports lawyers on, please contact Jacqui Callan and Chloe Salt in our criminal defence team for assistance with your query.