News & Events
News & Events
Louis Weston acted for the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in the prosecution of Liew Daren and Jerry Gan for betting offences under the Rules of the BWF. Head of Outer Temple’s Sports Law team, Louis Weston represented the Badminton World Federation at an Independent Hearing Panel where former Malaysian badminton player Liew Daren and former National Sports Institute (ISN) performance analyst Jerry Gan were found guilty of betting violations and match-fixing. The case followed a hearing in Malaysia in May 2021, in which the Coach and Analyst were found to have bet on a series of badminton matches discovered by messages between them on phones. The decision of the BWF Independent Hearing Panel was published in December 2024 and both…
News 27 Jan, 2025
Louis Weston acted for the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) in the prosecution of Leighton Bennett and Billy Warriner for numerous breaches of the DRA Rules, including match fixing. Louis, the Head of Outer Temple’s Sports Law Group acted for the Darts Regulation Authority in the case of Leighton Bennett and Billy Warriner. The case involved the rising star Leighton Bennett (aged 17) agreeing to fix a series of matches which were then bet on by Billy Warriner. After investigations following reported suspicious betting at a series of matches, the DRA Disciplinary Committee found both players guilty of the breaches of the DRA Rules. Mr Bennett was suspended for 8 years and Mr Warriner for 10 years. The decision of the…
News 24 Jan, 2025
Louis Weston acted for DP World Tour, in the prosecution of Marco Penge for betting offences under the Rules of the Tour in December 2024. Louis , Head of the Outer Temple’s Sports Law team, represented DP World Tour at an Independent Disciplinary Panel which found that Penge placed bets on multiple golf events in breach of Regulation 3(a)(i)* of the Programme. Penge did not bet on himself or on the progress of tournaments during days when he was participating, leading the panel to find that the integrity of such events had not been compromised. However, Penge was suspended from the Tour for a period of three months, of which one month was suspended for a period of 12 months…
News 21 Jan, 2025
Louis Weston acted for the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation (GEF) in the prosecution of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation (AGF) and its Coaches regarding allegations of physical and psychological abuse of gymnasts in Azerbaijan. Louis Weston, Head of Outer Temple’s Sports Group, successfully acted for the GEF in the disciplinary proceedings against the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, its former Head Coach Mariana Vasileva, Acting Head Coach Siyana Vasileva, Coach Evgeniya Vilyayeva and AGF Sport Director Natalia Bulanova for charges of alleged physical and psychological abuse against multiple rhythmic gymnasts in Azerbaijan between 2013 and 2021. The Gymnastics Ethics Foundation (GEF) was founded in January 2019 by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), the world governing body for the sport of gymnastics. It now…
News 17 Jan, 2025
Event Date: 5 Dec, 2024
We look forward to our Third Annual Sanctions Forum ‘A Deep Dive into the Russia Regulations, US Sanctions & Sanctions in Sport’ taking place on Thursday, 5th December at The Reform Club. Outer Temple’s Sanctions experts, together with a line-up of renowned guest speakers will be discussing a range of sanctions related topics across 3 panels at our annual sanctions breakfast seminar. Topics: Panel 1 – Sanctions in Sport – from Football to Formula 1 Panel 2 – Down the Russia Regulations Rabbit Hole – pitfalls and peculiarities Panel 3 – US Sanctions – the New World Order Speakers: Louis Weston, Outer Temple Chambers Oliver Powell, Outer Temple Chambers Sophie O’Sullivan, Outer Temple Chambers Jeremy Scott-Joynt, Outer Temple Chambers Salomé Lemasson,…
Louis Weston successfully acted for the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in the prosecution of former Northern Ireland Open champion, Mark King for match fixing, ending with a five year ban and an award of costs to the WPBSA of just under £70,000. Mark King was suspended by the WPBSA on 18th March 2023 after suspicious betting was reported on his match with Joe Perry on 13 February, 2023 at the Welsh Open. King, who denied the charges in the case, has until 28 November 2024 to appeal against the decisions of the independent disciplinary committee, which also ordered him to pay £68,000 costs. Reasons for the liability and sanction decisions will follow in due course. To read…
News 18 Nov, 2024
Outer Temple’s sports law specialist, Louis Weston, has recently collaborated with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and leading experts to write this guide on the prosecutions of competition manipulation in sport. Louis, UNODC, IOC and leading experts from the sporting world and law enforcement, worked together to produce this guide in response to the growing scale and sophistication of competition manipulation and the efforts of UNODC and IOC to combat that threat. The guide considers the challenges associated with the prosecution of such cases and sets out a recommended framework for effective action to practically prepare the prosecution of such cases and is targeted at those engaged in the broader effort to…
News 8 Feb, 2024
Louis Weston and Samuel Cuthbert will be speaking at the Ankura Sports Governance, Compliance and Investigations Conference on Thursday, 25th January at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Louis Weston and Samuel Cuthbert will be speaking along other experts at the second annual Sports Governance, Compliance and Investigations Conference on Thursday, 25th January 2024 at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Conference will involve discussions on a number of topics including: Compliance in Sports Financial Regulations in Sport Next Steps on Sports Integrity Having Created Your Enterprise Risk Register, What Next? Managing Safeguarding Risk Multi-Sport Ownership and the Investment Landscape Louis Weston of Outer Temple Chambers will be speaking alongside Jason Van’t Hof of US Integrity, Affy Sheikh of Starlizard…
News 5 Jan, 2024
Outer Temple’s Louis Weston acts for Gymnastics Ethics Foundation in resisting an appeal by Ms Viner (Head Coach of Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics) and cross appealing a decision in the case of the Russian Gymnastics Federation and its members. The Gymnastics Ethics Foundation Appeal Tribunal Panel (GEF AT Panel) released its decision on 22nd of November 2023 in the appeal of Ms. Irina Viner against the decision of the GEF Disciplinary Commission which was released on the 6th of March 2023 (click here to read more), and the cross‑appeal filed by the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation (GEF) against the same decision on issues of costs and the liability of the Artistic Gymnastics Federation of Russia (AGFR). In its decision, the GEF AT…
News 24 Nov, 2023
Outer Temple Chambers is pleased to share our new specialist ADR wing, a separate service provided and managed, independent of our counsel work. Members of Outer Temple Chamber’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Team include Adjudicators, Arbitrators, Mediators, Expert Witness and Determiners, Early Neutral Evaluation, and Conciliation experts, all with a mixed common and civil law background. Our neutrals accept appointments across a wide range of practice areas including commercial, construction, energy and natural resources, shipping, international trade, and personal injury with experience across Europe, Middle East, US, and Asia-Pacific. For further information please contact 0207 353 6381 or email adr@outertemple.com Visit our newly launched ADR wing here.
News 10 Nov, 2023
On Thursday 21st of September, Outer Temple’s Sports Law Team and industry experts, including David Winnie, spoke at the Regulation in Football Seminar. The recording is now available. Hosted at Outer Temple Chambers, our Sports Team members’ Sarah Crowther KC, Louis Weston and Samuel Cuthbert were joined by David Winnie of Burlingtons LLP, Lloyd Thomas of Brighton & Hove Albion and Daniel McDonagh of Charles Russell Speechlys LLP for an evening of discussions on regulation in football. Topics included the FIFA Football Agent Regulations, the Bosman Ruling, central regulation in football, multi-club ownership models, and the uses and pitfalls of Rule K. Watch part 1 – Q&A session with Sam Cuthbert and David Winnie. Sam asked David about regulation during his time as professional player and his reflections…
Webinars 24 Oct, 2023
Louis Weston, Head of the OTC Sports Group has been appointed as a Member of the International Boxing Association’s Dispute Resolution Chamber a division of the IBA’s Boxing Independent Integrity Unit. The Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU) deals with all ethical and disciplinary issues, as well as conducting eligibility checks and selecting candidates for elections and providing education and development services. Louis Weston has been appointed as a member of the The Dispute Resolution Chamber (a division of the BIIU), for 4 years by the managing board. Each member of the DRC must meet eligibility criteria to ensure high level standard of reputation. DRC is competent to hear the following boxing related disputes: disputes of international dimension arising from IBA…
News 9 Aug, 2023
