Recently, the China Sports Arbitration Commission announced the first batch of typical sports arbitration cases to the public. A field of play decision dispute arbitration case, in which Llinks acted as legal counsel, was successfully selected. Llinks lawyers participated in this case representing the Respondent, a certain provincial sports bureau. After the hearing, the arbitral tribunal rendered an award supporting the Respondent's defense and dismissing all of the Claimant's arbitration requests.
The dispute in this case involves the application of the "Field of Play" principle in sports arbitration in China, providing a guiding reference for similar cases in the sports sector. During the representation, Llinks lawyers systematically explicated that technical field of play decisions constitute the core of the autonomy of competitive sports. Due to the instantaneous and highly professional nature of on-field decisions, technical decisions on the field of play should be respected in principle. Furthermore, Llinks lawyers raised a defense regarding the validity of the Claimant's protest actions. The arbitral tribunal endorsed this and clarified in the award that a valid protest against a field of play decision must simultaneously satisfy two major elements: the formal "written form" and the substantive "clarity of the expression of intent." This standard helps provide clearer procedural guidance for participants seeking on-field remedies and holds multiple guiding values for regulating the order of competitive sports and enhancing event governance. While thanking our partners for their trust, we also look forward to having more opportunities to further contribute to the construction of the rule of law environment in sports through our legal services.
Llinks Engagement Team
Roy Chu, Associate
Emily Lai, Associate
