Sports Law Disputes
We provide strategic dispute management services to sports organisations. Drawing on decades of experience representing clients in sports arbitration and litigation, we deliver nuanced, straightforward advice to help our clients effectively manage and resolve disputes.

Our sport disputes specialists advise international federations, national governing bodies and leagues on a wide range of prominent disputes and sports regulatory issues. We understand the unique challenges that these organisations face, which means we can offer solutions that are aligned with their strategic goals.

We advise clients throughout the UK and internationally on a wide range of issues, including:

Drafting rules and regulations for governing bodies and helping them to investigate breaches and enforce their rules
Providing bespoke competition and regulatory advice on high profile and contentious matters in the sports market
Commercial disputes with sponsors and other stakeholders in both arbitration and litigation proceedings
Enforcement of intellectual property rights and brand protection
Allegations of anti-doping and other sport-specific disciplinary matters

Meet our key contacts

Matt Phillip

Partner

Meet our full team

Gordon Downie

Partner

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Alec Fair

Associate

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Ben Pilbrow

Partner

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Related articles and insights: Sports Law Disputes

20 January 2026

Shivering this winter? Cole Palmer’s signature shiver and the emergence of motion marks in football

Contributor: Joseph Fitzgibbon

Cole Palmer is the first footballer to secure a motion mark for a celebration via a 2018 amendment to the Trade Marks Act 1994. This represents the expanding scope of trade mark protection in sport.

30 March 2020

COVID-19: Should I negotiate via video-link?

Contributor: Leonore Dupont

Should you negotiate with counterparts when working remotely as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic? Leonore Dupont details best practice for doing so and the potential pitfalls to avoid.

3 May 2019

Negotiations: Why do we avoid uncertainty?

Contributor: Leonore Dupont

Most of us know that it is important to understand our own motivations in any negotiation-type setting, but how many of you are aware of the natural cognitive biases that we are all prone to? And how these biases can influence both your decision-making processes and those of other people with whom you interact?

5 March 2019

Negotiations: Why do we hate to lose?

Contributor: Leonore Dupont

Negotiating is a part of life. Whether it’s a two year old toddler trying to ‘negotiate’ her way out of eating those vegetables at dinner, a tourist haggling in a bazaar, a salesperson trying to seal the deal or a business executive attending a mediation to resolve a dispute, it permeates every aspect of our lives. Everyone needs to negotiate for something at some point, be it when asking for a salary raise or trying to clinch a multi-million pound buy-out contract. But how effective a negotiator are you?

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