Sport
Coronavirus advice for business
Sport is far from immune from the challenges posed by COVID-19, with all governing bodies, clubs and teams impacted. The ban on mass gatherings prevents the staging of events, but the questions as to what to do, whether to postpone, refund or replace, arise and sound advice is needed on the obligations incumbent on organisers.
People in sport may have different employment status designations to their relationships, but significant care needs to be exercised in making decisions when relationship status can be challenged and give rise to problems. Participation in leagues or events will be governed by rules, and laws will apply, making decisions on cancellation or withdrawal difficult, and potentially actionable.
Ticketing, hospitality, marketing and commercial stakeholder arrangements are all significant commercial arrangements that have multiple difficulties, not to mention multiple interested parties, all seeking reassurance.
Arrangements for staging, participating or withdrawing from sporting competitions planned for later in the year will also need to be reviewed, and advice taken, to safely respond to the challenges faced.
Recent updates
- What does the Belgian football league's decision to end the season mean for the Scottish game?
- What do employers and employees do about holidays during the outbreak?
- How to keep track of the most up-to-date, official coronavirus advice
- What responsibilities do employers have regarding employees and the Coronavirus?
Key contact - Bruce Caldow
Bruce leads the firm’s sports law practice. In this role Bruce advises the firm’s many sports clients in relation to regulatory, disciplinary and governance matters. Clients include the Scottish Rugby Union, for whom Bruce is the national team's lawyer, sportscotland, Scottish Swimming and Scottish Gymnastics Association.
Scotland's leading team for sports law advice
Name a sport and the chances are that we advise its individual competitors, clubs, governing body – or maybe all three.
Recognised as Scotland’s leading sports law firm for more than 25 years, we advise on every aspect of the law as it relates to the sporting world.
From individual disciplinary matters to multi-million-pound commercial contracts, we offer a complete service – the fact that we were appointed as Official Legal Advisers to both the Glasgow 2018 European Championships and the 2014 Commonwealth Games is a testament to that.
Sport is a bigger business than ever before and the issues faced by those operating in the sector are numerous and complex. What happens off the field of play is intrinsically linked to what happens in the arena, in competition and at grassroots.
We share our clients’ passion for sport and work in partnership with them to combine this deep knowledge and understanding with the commercial approach we are renowned for.
Our Sports Law Team brings together a number of dedicated sports law specialists and recognised market leaders, including Scotland's only Eminent Practitioner in Sports Law, Professor Lorne Crerar. This team advises leading sporting competitors and organisations on issues arising at local, national and international levels.
It’s not only high-profile matters, or the ‘Royal Flush of governing bodies’ as Chambers UK described our client list. Our experience spans the full spectrum of sports including football, rugby, skiing, ice hockey, shinty, curling, karate, rowing, gymnastics, netball, swimming, snowsports, triathlon, tennis, wrestling and many more.
“Harper Macleod has long been a trailblazer and it remains the undisputed heavyweight of Scottish sports law." "Exceptional group of lawyers receiving regular instructions from the biggest names in Scottish and international sport." "Handles the full remit of sports law for an impressive client roster of international federations, national governing bodies, tournament organisers, clubs, sporting professionals and sports representatives."
Key contacts - get in touch
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Partner
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Partner
Key sports services
The group provides a complete service and has unrivalled experience in niche areas including:
- Anti-doping policy and regulation
- Broadcasting agreements, both traditional and new media (domestic and overseas)
- Charity law
- Child protection and protection of vulnerable adults (safeguarding in sport)
- Commercial advisory including revenue streams
- Commercial contracts
- Competition and league staging
- Data protection issues in sport including medical records
- Employment law issues
- Equalities
- Image rights
- Immigration issues
- Insurance
- Licensing
- Litigation and dispute resolution (in civil courts & sporting tribunals)
- On- and off-field disciplinary issues
- Player/athlete eligibility
- Property law
- Protection and exploitation of intellectual property rights
- Regulatory governance and constitutional issues
- Representation before sports tribunals, mediation and the Court of Arbitration for Sport
- Reputation management
- Restructuring and mergers of governing bodies
- Sponsorship agreements, partnership agreements and advertising
- Sporting governance
- Sporting integrity
- Ticketing arrangements
- Tournament / event regulation including participation agreements
- Use of trusts, SCIOs, charities and fund-raising in sport
Chambers UK 2021Exceptional group of lawyers receiving regular instructions from the biggest names in Scottish and international sport. Trusted to advise on regulatory, disciplinary, contentious and commercial matters, including broadcasting agreements and anti-doping. Handles work for national governing bodies in football, rugby and swimming. Acts for organisers, clubs and individuals on prominent sporting events and tournaments in Scotland. Assists with matters affecting sport at all levels, from elite professional competition to grassroots youth and amateur involvement.
One client notes: "Their motivation is to provide a high-quality service."
Another says: "All our needs are met, and we always find that Harper Macleod respond in a timely manner and are happy to follow up in writing."
Bruce Caldow is regarded as one of the foremost sports law experts in Scotland, with a number of major sporting organisations calling upon his abilities in both contentious and non-contentious mandates across the UK. Sources laud him as a "very technically experienced" practitioner, with one client reporting: "Bruce is always looking to provide a professional service and is happy to discuss ways to improve and develop the service his team provide to the sports sector."
Chambers UK 2021
Chair of the firm Lorne Crerar is acclaimed as a "visionary solicitor" by market commentators, who also note his "particularly prominent" reputation in advising on legal issues arising in rugby. He is held in considerably high esteem for his expertise in disciplinary matters.
Chambers UK 2021
Integral to the practice is Tom Thomas; he is considered a go-to name for sponsorship and broadcasting agreements in addition to commercial and IP property rights.
Legal 500 2021
Team highlights
We were Official Legal Advisers to the Glasgow 2018 European Championships – the inaugural hosting of the multi-sport event that brings together some of Europe’s leading competitions. To be staged every four years, the European Championships combined the existing European Championships of Athletics, Aquatics, Cycling, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon along with a new Golf team championships. The firm provided a broad range of legal services required to support of delivery of the Glasgow 2018 European Championships, including commercial contracts, IP, governance and regulatory matters. We were appointed to the role following a competitive public procurement exercise.
Scottish football reconstruction
We advised The Scottish Premier League Limited in relation to the reconstruction of Scottish football, which involved the amalgamation of The Scottish Premier League (SPL) and The Scottish Football League (SFL) into The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL).
sportscotland
Under the sportscotland expert resource framework we are on hand to offer advice to more than 60 of the country's sports governing bodies. This appointment has seen us advise the majority of governing bodies in sport in Scotland.
International/cross border
Our team has extensive experience of regulatory, commercial and disciplinary matters in international sport. This ranges from representing the interests of high-profile international athletes to acting on behalf of global events and those engaging with them.
We have extensive experience of representing clients in disputes related to sport, including actions at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
We have also played a leading role in antidoping within sport.
Sports law specialists
We were the first people in Scotland to specialise in sports law, and have been leading the way since 1992, with more individuals based in sport than any other firm.
Professor Lorne Crerar, Chairman of Harper Macleod, is a former Chairman of the European Rugby Cup Tournament (EPCR) and was also a Judicial Officer at four Rugby World Cups and part of the judicial team at the inaugural Rugby 7s tournament at the 2016 Rio Olympics. For over 20 years he was Chairman of the Discipline Panels for the SRU, European Rugby Cup and 6Nations, standing down from these roles at the end of season 2016/17. He was an IRB "elite judge" and was also the Judicial Officer for the Rugby World Cup Finals in both 2015 and 2011.
In July 2017, the Scottish Rugby Board awarded Lorne 'Emeritus' status on the Scottish Rugby Discipline Panel - the first time anyone had been granted that honour - in recognition of his 'tremendous service to the game'.
Bruce Caldow is the National Team solicitor for the Scottish Rugby Union and is also a legal chairman for the SFA judicial panel.
Carolyn Morgan is Honorary legal adviser to Commonwealth Games Scotland and Head of the Scottish Gymnastics Conduct in Sport Panel.
Tom Thomas advises high-profile sporting organisations on headline sponsorship and broadcast agreements for both domestic and foreign territories. He advised on the Host Broadcaster agreement for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games
As Legal Advisers to Glasgow 2014 we played a key role in the biggest cultural and multi-sport event ever to take place in Scotland. We were involved in all aspects of the preparation and execution of the event. Six full-time secondees were backed by an extended team to deliver the most successful Games ever, on time and on budget. With more than one million tickets sold and an audience of billions watching, our advice assisted with vital ticketing and broadcast deals. Our employment and construction specialists helped Glasgow 2014 build a workforce and create Games-ready venues, while we assisted the Games on a range of deals with major global brands. Other key areas included intellectual property areas such as brand protection, public procurement and competition law. Find out more here
Meet the team
Contact us
Call us for free on 0330 159 5555 or complete our online form below for legal advice or to arrange a call back.