Key Sports Law Cases & Developments 2025 – U.K. & Ireland

At the end of each year, we publish compilation articles to identify the most important legal cases and developments from the world of sports law in the preceding 12 months. The articles are comprised of the opinions of leading lawyers and executives from the LawInSport Editorial and Advisory Board.

This article contains the responses from our U.K. and Ireland members:

• Louis Weston, Barrister, Outer Temple Chambers
  • Developments in Litigation Principles
  • UNODC’s/IOC Guide to the Prosecution of Bribery in Sport
• Nick De Marco KC, Barrister, Blackstone Chambers
  • The Football Association v. Lucas Paquetá
  • MacLaren v. Alex Palou
  • Felipe Massa v Formula One Management (FOM), the FIA, and Bernie Ecclestone
• Danielle Sharkey, Senior Associate, Wiggin LLP
  • Women’s Sport
  • Lucas Paquetá Case
  • Competition Litigation
• Tim O’Connor BL, Practising Barrister, Irish Bar
  • Developments in EU law and Sport
• Mark Hovell, Partner, Mills & Reeve LLP
  • “Cold Palmer” Trademark Registration
• Chris Anderson, Head of Regulatory Affairs, City Football Group
  • The Passage of the Football Governance Act
• Mark James, Professor of Sports Law and Director of Research, Manchester Law School
  • The Combined Impact of the Judgments in RFC Seraing and Semenya
• Rupert Beloff, Barrister & Joint Head of Chambers, 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Football Governance and Regulation
  • Equality and Participation
• Jon Walters, Partner, Northridge Law
  
  • Multi-club ownership in women's football
• Kendrah Potts, Barrister, 4 New Square Chambers
• • International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) v Jannik Sinner 

We would like to thank our Editorial and Advisory Board members for taking the time out of their busy schedules to share their views with us, and also more broadly for their significant input into LawInSport over the course of the year.  Thank you.