A Sports Law Rugby Blog
Steve Diamond has received a six-week ban for verbally abusing Match Officials following Newcastle Falcons’ Premiership match against Exeter Chiefs, on 29 March 2025. The Falcons’ director of rugby is no stranger to rugby’s disciplinary system, having previously received several…
New Zealand Rugby (“NZR”) has today announced that it is taking legal action against British petrochemical company, INEOS, over an alleged breach of a sponsorship agreement. In 2021, the parties entered into an agreement under which INEOS (the co-owners of…
Last week, the news broke that rugby union may be the next sport to experience the disruption of a breakaway league. Reports suggest that plans are afoot for a new global franchise competition akin to the Indian Premier League, Formula…
1. Introduction Since 2012, the Rugby Football Union (“RFU”) has operated a policy under which players playing for clubs outside of England cannot be selected to play for the England national team, save in exceptional circumstances (the “Policy”). It is…
Head contact in rugby union has come under heightened scrutiny in recent years, owing to increased concern about brain injuries in the sport. However, this “zero tolerance” approach has not been without controversy. January 2017 saw the start of World…
The highly anticipated decision in EPCR’s misconduct case against Ireland captain, Johnny Sexton was published this week, with the player handed a three-match ban. His club, Leinster Rugby, were also given a €7,500 fine, albeit suspended until the end of…
Joe Marler’s two-week ban for verbally abusing Bristol Bears’ Jake Heenan in late December 2022 caused no shortage of controversy. Public opinion is split between those who found the ban too harsh, and those who thought it was too short.…
1. Introduction Following a dark two months, in which Premiership Rugby has lost two clubs to insolvency events, there may now be some light at the end of the tunnel. Both Worcester Warriors and Wasps have announced that takeover deals…
Following the winding up of WRFC Players Limited on 5 October 2022, the RFU announced that Worcester Warriors (“Worcester”, the “Club”) would be suspended from the remainder of the 2022/23 Premiership Rugby season, and would then be relegated to the…
A Spanish version of this article has been published on the website, 'A Palos'. Una versión española de este artículo se ha publicado en el sitio web, 'A Palos'. 1. Introduction Despite the hopes of Spanish players and fans, an independent World…
