Sports Ticker (15th Jan 2021) - Ice skating body infringed competition law, Sport in England will not be banned under the new national lockdown, British Boxing Board of Control suspend all tournaments

Welcome to the latest edition of the RPC Sports Ticker - providing fortnightly bite-size updates from around the sports industry.

Access the full Sports Ticker here.

In our first edition of 2021, we take a look at Sun Yang’s appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, the new ownership of Burnley FC, and a recent EU decision against the International Skating Union.

Olympic swimming champion’s appeal upheld by Swiss Court

The Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT) has upheld Sun Yang’s appeal against an eight-year doping ban, which was handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last February. The Chinese swimmer, who is the reigning world and Olympic champion in 200m freestyle, was originally banned after he and members of his team were accused of “smashing vials containing blood samples” taken at an out-of-competition test in September 2018. 

New Year's Eve celebrations for ‘Happy Place Happy Place’ Turf Moor

Following a process that kicked-off long before the start of the 2020/21 season, ALK Capital completed its 84% purchase of Burnley Football Club on New Year’s Eve. 

EU court finds ice skating body infringed competition law

The EU General Court has upheld a decision against the International Skating Union (ISU) and ruled that, by restricting skaters from participating in non-ISU events, the ISU infringed competition law.

Professional sport in “privileged position” under new lockdown

Last week the UK Prime Minister announced that professional sport in England will not be banned under the new national lockdown. This means that elite leagues, such as the Premier League and Premier 15s Rugby Union, can continue behind closed doors. 

British boxing suspended for January after COVID-19 increase in UK

Following the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) has decided to suspend all tournaments under its jurisdiction during January 2021.

Extra time... 

…and finally, Australian Claire Polosak has become the first woman to officiate in men’s Test cricket as she took her role as fourth umpire in the third Test between Australia and India last week. The landmark represents a 144 year first in the history of the game’s longest format. Polosak has very much led the way for female umpires, after officiating on-field in the men’s one day international between Namibia and Oman last April. Former international umpire Simon Taufel said that Plosak has “a tremendous amount of experience at the international level” and that she was “relishing” the opportunity to umpire in her first Test match (See more here). As ever – a long way to go, but good to see positive progress in this space.