Sports Law
We have some of the leading lawyers in Canada in the area of sports law. We represent athletes, coaches, complainants and sport organizations in range of cases, including sport-related investigations, discipline matters, carding matters, selection disputes and field of play protests. Our lawyers also represent Sport Integrity Canada in anti-doping prosecutions. We appear before the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, other independent adjudicative tribunals, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, and in sports-related matters before human rights tribunals in Canada. Our lawyers have experience as adjudicators and arbitrators in sports law cases, as well as extensive administrative law knowledge, giving them particular expertise when it comes to case strategy and understanding what procedural fairness requires. We represent parties seeking to challenge or defend sports-related arbitration awards before the courts, and also defend sport organizations and sport participants against civil claims in court. Finally, we provide sports organizations with advice relating to good governance and rules development.
Practice Areas
Discipline matters
Code of Conduct complaints
Selection disputes
Carding disputes
Field of play protests
Anti-doping prosecutions
Court challenges to arbitration awards
Defence of civil claims
Governance advice
Rules drafting
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Representative Work
Acting for former Team Canada coach John Herdman in disciplinary proceedings before Canada Soccer’s disciplinary tribunal (resulting in only a letter of reprimand and no other sanctions)
Acting for wrestling coaches and athletes to successfully set aside an arbitration award made against them by an SDRCC arbitrator: Fowlie v. Spinney et al., 2025 ONSC 2123
Acting for sport organizations in successfully resisting selection appeals: see, e.g., Venning v. Volleyball Canada, 2025 CASDRC 21
Acting for sport organizations before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS): see, e.g., Uhlaender v. Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton et al. (CAS)
Acting for sport organizations in matters before human rights tribunals: see, e.g., Adams v. Ontario Cycling Association et al., 2018 HRTO 548
Acting for Sport Integrity Canada in anti-doping prosecutions
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Recognition
Lexpert, Litigation – Regulatory & Public Law, “Consistently Recommended” (Luisa Ritacca and Justin Safayeni)
Best Lawyers, Administrative and Public Law (Luisa Ritacca and Justin Safayeni)
Benchmark Litigation, Administrative & Public Law (Luisa Ritacca and Justin Safayeni)
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