A Football Transfer Dispute Ignited On Social Media – That Could Have Been Avoided With Mediation.

A Football Transfer Dispute Ignited On Social Media - That Could Have Been Avoided With Mediation....

18 February, 2025

The ‘Weapon of Last Resort’ in a Mediator’s Toolkit :Withdraw from the role of mediator?

The decision by a mediator to withdraw from its role as ‘mediator’ demonstrates one key aspect of mediation that any party to a mediation can exercise (including the mediator) without any direct repercussion ……. and that is the right to walk away at any point....

01 December, 2024

The Problem of ‘In-House Mediation’ in Sport, and the Risk of Damage to the Plausibility of Mediation

Whilst it's welcome to hear that sport increasingly supports and utilises mediation, BUT the role played by the likes of in-house legal teams in sports organisations, their mediation understanding and the way in which they practice mediation is increasingly concerning in some cases....

06 September, 2024

Has The Suspension of FIFA’s Agents Chamber Left Football Agents & Those in Agent Related Disputes ‘Sidelined’?

In the absence of the suspended (FIFA) Agents Chamber, the question has to be asked as to where this leaves agents, their clients (whether players, managers/coaches, or even clubs) and any other related football party as and when a dispute arises – and ultimately does the suspension of article 20...

26 August, 2024

Can Football Participants Opt Out of Seemingly Prescribed Dispute Resolution Mechanisms?.

One of the biggest frustrations and concerns for many football participants (e.g. players, agents, managers, clubs) comes in regard to what happens if they are engaged in a dispute with another football participant. Can Football Participants Opt Out of Seemingly Prescribed Dispute Resolution Mechanisms?...

21 August, 2024

Mediation in the Dispute Between Agents and FIFA: Would or Could It Ever Succeed?

The FFAR dispute between FIFA and football agents could have been resolved (if not largely averted) long before now – and in a far more timely, efficient and cost-effective manner. That is if the values, attitudes, timelines, planning and approaches of all parties to the FFAR dispute had been better...

12 August, 2024

Where is Mediation Applicable in Sports Disputes, and Where it is Not?

Some mediators may well believe that mediation can solve every dispute;but that is simply not the case, due to the variables that may exist in any dispute. All affecting when mediation is feasible in sports disputes, and when it is not?...

02 August, 2024

The Priceless Ingredient in Mediation …… ‘Good Faith’.

We need to appreciate that there is a vital and invaluable ingredient for mediation. This is one not brought about by the mediator(s), but by all parties to the mediation (most notably the disputants) …. and that is the crucial ingredient of ‘good faith’....

27 July, 2024

UK Football Regulator Risks Missing a Mediation (and Med-Arb) Opportunity?

The UK Government's 'Independent Football Regulator' (IFR) is missing out on an opportunity to employ mediation to resolve what is in essence a ‘dispute’ (although it may be presented by some as a negotiation). A renegotiation of the deal between the Premier League EFL, has been reported as there being...

03 June, 2024

Is The Biggest Threat to the Growth of Mediation, Actually Mediation?

Following my move into the mediation profession, I have noted several factors that I believe are evidence of the growth of mediation being stifled, if not an element of self-destruction somewhat from within. This article may seem pretty much a paradox in itself, and I may come to contradict myself...

14 May, 2024