A Sports Law Rugby Blog
On 17 November 2021, the long-awaited decision in the World Rugby misconduct case against Springbok Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus, and the South Africa Rugby Union (“SARU”) was published (the “Decision”). The case relates to the infamous 62-minute video (available…
Premiership clubs (the “Clubs”) are reportedly in a dispute with agents over the payment of agents’ fees. Traditionally, these have always been paid by the Clubs on behalf of players but, in June this year, the Clubs agreed to end…
Jordie Barrett’s red card in New Zealand’s final Bledisloe Cup (2021) match against Australia has been met with no shortage of controversy. In the 28th minute, Barrett’s boot struck the face of Australia’s Marika Koroibete, as the All Black attempted…
1. Introduction This article is the (long overdue) second part of a series of articles on the concussion litigation in rugby union, which was instigated in December 2020 by a group of former professional players against the Rugby Football Union…
On 21 June 2021, the RFU published the decision of its independent disciplinary panel (the “Panel”) to sanction Leicester Tigers hooker, Tom Youngs, for conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game, contrary to RFU Rule 5.12. The case arose…
Zander Fagerson’s ban during the 2021 Six Nations has caused widespread controversy. Fans and commentators have been outraged by the fact he was sent off, by the length of his ban, and by the matches for which he has been…
On 11 February, Jonathan Joseph, Elliott Stooke and Gabriel Oghre were sanctioned by the RFU for breaching the UK Government’s COVID-19 regulations and rugby’s COVID-19 Minimum Operating Standards. In what is now rugby’s second COVID-19 disciplinary case (see previously the…
On Friday 12 February, the RFU Council approved a moratorium on relegation from rugby’s Premiership for the 2020-21 season. Citing the impact of COVID-19, the decision has been taken with the financial stability of the Premiership clubs in mind, with…
1. Introduction In December 2020, legal action was instigated by a group of former professional rugby players against the Rugby Football Union (“RFU”), the Welsh Rugby Union (“WRU”) and World Rugby, the sport’s International Federation. A pre-action letter of claim…
