London Welsh Appeal Has ‘far-reaching Implications’
London Welsh’s success in overturning the Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) decision to deny the club promotion to the Aviva Premiership has far-reaching implications for sports organisations, according to the legal team behind the club’s appeal.
Pinsent Masons advised the club as it appealed against a ruling that denied it promotion to the top flight because of a failure to meet the minimum standards criteria. The company’s Global Head of Sport, Trevor Watkins, insisted that the decision sets clear principles on how sport should govern itself.
‘It has been long acknowledged that sport needs and should have the leeway to organise its affairs in ways that might otherwise be deemed to be anti-competitive,’ he commented. ‘The decision makes clear, however, that careful consideration needs to be given to how this happens; whether a rule goes too far or indeed if the same end result can be achieved in a ‘better’ way and offend legal principles less.
‘If that balance is not struck correctly, a rule or principle is likely to be seen as unjustified distortion of competition.’
He added: ‘The decision has far reaching implications, not only for our clients, London Welsh, who can now look forward to their first season in the Aviva Premiership, but also for other sports bodies, competitions and teams as they look to plan, develop and improve.’
The three-man appeal panel, chaired by James Dingemans QC, upheld the club’s claim that the scope and application of the primacy of tenure rule gave rise to an unjustified distortion of competition and that the rule was therefore ‘contrary to EU and UK competition law’ and void.
The panel said the decision to uphold London Welsh’s appeal involved consideration of the current exemption enjoyed by three clubs already in the Premiership who do not have primacy of tenure. They determined there was ‘insufficient justification’ for the ‘narrowness of that exemption’ on aspirant championship clubs.
The Pinsent Masons team advising London Welsh was led by Watkins, assisted by Andrew Herring, Charlotte English, James Earl and Kimberly Perry. The Blackstone Chambers team of Tom de la Mare QC and Tom Richards assisted.
