UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Alistair McHenry, Sofia Antipatis and Rebecca Dods, Tyr
Tyr 2 The Embankment Sovereign Street Leeds LS1 4BA United Kingdom
Tel: +44 113 512 1050 Email: info@tyrlaw.co.uk Web: tyrlaw.co.uk
1. Athlete Conduct, Integrity and Enforcement
process. Through this governance structure, WADA standards and rules are embedded directly into UK sporting regulation and enforced consistently. Sanctions Within UK Sport Most national/sporting governing bodies (NGBs) adopt UKAD’s rules in full. Sanctions typically include bans ranging from two years to lifetime ineligibility, disqualification of results, loss of medals or titles, and public disclosure. These apply across professional and amateur levels, including athletes, coaches, and medical staff. Recent sanctions include: • Finley Evans (rugby union) – four-year ban follow - ing an out-of-competition test for Ostarine. • Dr Richard Freeman (cycling) – struck off the medi - cal register and sanctioned by UKAD for posses - sion of prohibited substances and tampering. • Tara Moore (tennis) – serving a four-year ban for positive tests for boldenone and nandrolone, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reinstated her sanction on appeal. 1.2 Misconduct and Match-Fixing Legislative Framework The UK has no single statute governing athlete mis - conduct or match fixing. Instead, integrity breaches sit within existing criminal law and run in parallel with sporting disciplinary regimes. Where conduct crosses the criminal threshold, match fixing or spot fixing may constitute:
1.1 Anti-Doping Regimes Criminal Status of Doping
Doping itself is not a criminal offence in the UK. Anti- doping violations are dealt with through sporting dis - ciplinary processes rather than the criminal courts. However, athletes and support personnel may still face criminal liability where conduct breaches UK drugs legislation. Many substances on the World Anti- Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 or regulated by the Medicines Act 1968, meaning that possession, supply, manufacture, or trafficking can constitute separate criminal offences. Substances most commonly triggering criminal liabil - ity include anabolic steroids, which are Class C con - trolled drugs, and stimulants or narcotics such as cocaine, MDMA and amphetamines, which fall within Class A or B. While sporting use of banned substanc - es is handled through disciplinary sanctions, associ - ated possession or distribution can lead to criminal prosecution. National Anti-Doping Governance The UK’s anti-doping system is aligned with the WADA framework. WADA sets the World Anti-Dop - ing Code (a new WADA Code will come into force on 1 January 2027) and the WADA Prohibited List, both of which are implemented domestically by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD). UKAD ensures UK compliance, delivers education programmes, conducts testing and investigations, and oversees the results management
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