UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Alistair McHenry, Sofia Antipatis and Rebecca Dods, Tyr
• Equitable principles – preventing misuse of event goodwill, particularly through ambush marketing or misleading associations. This framework allows organisers to regulate content creation, restrict media capture, manage commercial activities in and around the venue and prevent third parties from exploiting the event’s reputation without consent. Organisation and Management of Sporting Events Event governance varies by sport, but typically follows one of two models: • NGB-led – in most UK sports, an NGB acts as the event organiser. It sets competition rules, eligibility requirements, disciplinary procedures and com - mercial terms. Participation is governed by the NGB’s rulebook and any mandatory participation agreement. • Independent Competition Organiser – some com - petitions are run outside the NGB framework (eg, the Premier League, or the former British Basket - ball League which operate through a company shareholder structure). Here, rules and commercial arrangements are determined collectively by partic - ipating shareholders or members. Across both models, participation requires compli - ance with all applicable rules, including those govern - ing integrity, conduct, anti-doping and betting. Foot - ball is a partial exception, as UK clubs participate in multiple competitions run by different regulators (such as UEFA for the Champions League and The Football Association for the FA Cup), creating a multi-regulator UK event organisers owe a legal duty of care to ensure that spectators, athletes, staff, and contractors are reasonably protected from harm. Failure to do this may result in negligence claims. Key legislation includes: • Occupiers Liability Act 1957 – this imposes duties towards lawful visitors. environment with overlapping rules. 3.2 Duty of Care and Liability Duty of Care
• Occupiers Liability Act 1984 – this extends duties to trespassers. • Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 – this applies to club organisers and any event employer, covering employees, volunteers, contractors and (in some circumstances) the public. These duties include maintaining safe premises, proper stewarding, adequate medical provision, and crowd-management measures. While some liability can be limited through exclusion clauses (ie, through disclaimers), negligence causing death or personal injury cannot be excluded. Athletes are rarely found liable to spectators, as spec - tators are treated as having accepted the inherent risks of reasonably foreseeable sporting incidents. In 2013, a wayward Cristiano Ronaldo shot broke the wrist of an 11-year-old supporter in the crowd. While that did not attract liability, incidents such as Jamie Carragher’s coin throw into the crowd at Highbury in 2002, or Eric Dier climbing into the crowd to confront a fan in 2020, would probably not benefit from being Safety at sports events is supported by a suite of modern legislation and regulatory measures, includ - ing: • Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (scheduled for full enforcement in 2027), requiring enhanced counter-terror preparation; and • Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Act 2026 (passed on 22 January 2026), supported by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, and Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975, forming the backbone of crowd control and stadium safety regulation. reasonably foreseeable. Safety at Sports Events Football authorities have introduced additional sanc - tions to combat fan disorder – particularly targeting offensive chanting, pyrotechnics, pitch incursions, drug use and thrown objects. Clubs will usually impose their own ground rules consistent with those suggested by the football authorities.
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