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Larry Fenelon's article "Ambush Marketing - Game of Hide and Get Seen" was published on www.sportsnewsireland.com on 5 March 2012. Larry discusses the trend of ambush marketing and possible undermining of the lucrative sponsorship deals connected with many sporting events. The article examines previous examples of ambush marketing and...

The Court case taken by retired Insurance official, Tom Talbot against his golf club, the Hermitage and the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) for allegedly defaming him for lowering his handicap has lasted 21 days in the High Court before Judge Herbert.

Estimated legal costs for the Hermitage are €200,000.00 and the GUI faces a legal bill of close to €300,000.00.  That’s...

What is Ambush Marketing?

Remember the 36 blond bombshells dressed in orange discreetly advertising  Dutch brewery, Bavaria at the Holland-Denmark match at the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa?  Sure you do. 

But you may not remember that they were ejected from Soccer City stadium for their troubles and that two of the women were arrested under South...

Recent work undertaken by the Sports Law team:

• Advising athlete in JSI arbitration re suspension
• Representation for soccer club before Equality Tribunal
• Assisting sports club in mediated settlement re membership dispute
• Reviewing constitution and byelaws for National governing body
• Advising sports organisation re Olympic selection process
• Acting as legal assessor for...

On 26 January 2012, Leman Solicitors hosted a sports sponsorship workshop held in conjunction with Halpin Sport. The seminar was attended by numerous governing bodies and individuals involved in the Irish sports industry. The purpose of the seminar was to enhance knowledge within sports organisations on what sponsors want,...

• Acted as legal assessor to Sports governing body in appeal hearing
• Represented athlete in JSI arbitration challenge to decision of a disciplinary body
• Prepared case flow for sports governing body regarding complaints and disciplinary process
• Drafted a supplier contract between governing body and mediation institute
• Drafted representative contract for sports agency
• Advised governing body...

Leman Solicitors are winners of the Corporate INTL Legal 2011 Awards for ‘Sports Law Firm of the Year in Ireland’ in recognition of our specialist legal knowledge of Irish Sports Law.  Leman Solicitors act for over 25 National Governing Bodies in Ireland, as well as a host of professional athletes and clubs from every sporting code.  We are regularly invited to lecture on...

Besides a new sponsor, a new name and some new teams, what changes have been made to the Disciplinary code of the Rabo Pro 12 league? What changes  can players  expect in the sanction they get when cited, sin binned or sent off in 2012?  The optics in any event have certainly changed, for the better.

The event organisers are acutely conscious of the historical...

Leman Solicitors together with sponsorship and marketing consultants, Halpin Sport are hosting a breakfast seminar from 7.45am to 9.00am on Thursday 26 January at our offices at 8 – 34 Percy Place, Dublin 4 (www.leman.ie/contact-us).  Spaces are limited.  To confirm your place reply to gbluett@leman.ie

We will be covering the following topics: -

1. Market check...

Recent work undertaken by the Sports Law team:

• Advising athlete in JSI arbitration re suspension
• Representation for soccer club before Equality Tribunal
• Assisting sports club in mediated settlement re membership dispute
• Reviewing constitution and byelaws for National governing body
• Advising sports organisation re Olympic selection process
• Acting as legal assessor for sports...

By Larry Fenelon*

Ever wondered where Irish law stands on the use of a sports star’s image for profit without the consent of the athlete in question?  Think of a photographer who compiles a photographic calendar of sports stars which he/she sells for profit.   What rights do our athletes have over their images and can they lay a claim on any such profits?

The most...

Larry Fenelon was invited by the Federation of Irish Sport and the Law Society of Ireland to speak at the annual Sports Law conference which took place at Blackhall Place on 28 May 2011.  Larry, a specialist in Sports law spoke to sports bodies about practical methods of avoiding legal disputes.  To access the presentation slides please click here.

Larry Fenelon spoke at the annual Sports Law seminar hosted by the Federation of Irish Sport in conjunction with the Law Society.  The seminar took place on Saturday 28 May.

Highlighting the fact that legal proceedings taken by members of the Irish Tug Of War Association were still ongoing in the High Court, some five years after they began was a shot across the bows of every sporting...

Club Seminar

Larry Fenelon will speak at the Annual Club Development Information conference which will take place in Croke Park on Saturday 27 August.  Larry will talk about how to implement and administer robust disciplinary procedures within the club structure.

LaShawn Merrit, the 2008 Olympic 400m Champion,  was suspended from all completion for 18 months in 2010 after being found guilty of taking a 'prohibited substance'.

Under International Olympic Committee (IOC) Rule 45 introduced to the Olympic Charter in 2008, any athlete found guilty of a doping offence is  automatically banned from participating...

A summary of the key points of legislation

The purpose of the Betting (Amendment) Bill is to amend the Betting Act 1931 with the object of bringing online/phone  sports gambling  within the existing regulatory framework.

Who does it affect?

It will affect bookmakers with online sports betting facilities and punters, in respect of sports betting.  As it stands online betting...

A summary of the key points of Legislation

1. This bill proposes to introduce mandatory Garda vetting for all employers who hire employees or volunteers who work with children or people with disabilities.

2. The bill will provide for the establishment of a National Vetting Bureau for the collection and exchange of both 'hard' and 'soft' information for vetting purposes....

This was an attempt to overturn the decision of the Connacht Council made on 11 November 2010 which had upheld the decision of the Sligo Hearings Committee, which imposed 48 week suspensions on Baireád on the basis that Baireád had illegally played for Western Gaels club.

B Summary of the decision

The Tribunal held that proper procedures had not been followed by Connacht...

UPDATED CHANGES TO WADA PROHIBITED LIST

Non-Approved Substances

A new section - "Non-Approved Substances" - has been added. This "open" section addresses the abuse of pharmacological substances for the purpose of performance enhancement which are not included in other sections of the List and which are not approved by any governmental regulatory health authority for human...

In 2010 key stakeholders in Irish sports business came together with the intention of starting a business network for like minded sports businesses or businesses with a particular interest in sport.

The aim of ISBA is to provide networking events and an online forum for the disconnected sports business community.

ISBA is currently an online group on Linked In with close to 100...

1. Spurs Judicial Review

Tottenham Hotspurs are to launch a Judicial Review into the decision which awarded the 2012 Olympic Stadium to their arch rivals West Ham United. Spurs are particularly angry over a deal made between West Ham and Newham Council which gave the Hammers a €40 Million loan to fund the winning bid.

2. Ambush Marketing

Any company found guilty of ambush marketing...

a) A summary of facts

Carlos Quieroz is the former Manchester United Assistant manager who  had  a run in with anti doping officials  when they arrived without notice to conduct random sampling on members of the Portuguese national side when they were training.

The Squad were at a pre World Cup training camp when members of the Portuguese national anti doping unit arrived...

The decision by the International Cricket Council (ICC)  to restrict the 2015 World Cup to the ten full member nations  (Australia, Bangladesh, England and Wales, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe) is rightly being challenged by Cricket Ireland in light of its historical success in this year's World Cup competition.  Cricket Ireland...

 Sports clubs – up there with the church and the pub as the lynchpin of every community, rural or urban.  Forget about the sports code, it’s not really big picture stuff.  Debt isn’t exclusive to the GAA, FAI, IRFU, Tennis Ireland or Golf Union , or whatever you’re having yourself.   The age of debt is upon us.  So are its cousins, “haircut”...

Larry Fenelon has been invited to speak at the "Safeguarding Children in Sport Conference 2010" which is taking place at the IMI, Sandyford Road, Dublin 16 on Saturday 27 November 2010. 

Larry will be talking about the dynamics of handling the Complaints and Disciplinary process where children are involved and outlining how to avoid future litigation. 

 ...