Inside the disciplinary system
Dr Richard Sladden currently chairs the Malta Football Association’s Protests Board, and has presided over multiple boards and tribunals across his career. Sporting disputes run on their own procedures and their own timescales, and familiarity with how those bodies actually operate matters as much as the underlying law.
Who we act for
- Athletes, on contracts, transfers and disciplinary proceedings
- Clubs, on governance, sponsorship and employment
- Governing bodies, on regulation and dispute procedures
- Sponsors and commercial partners, on rights agreements
How sporting disputes are actually decided
Sport largely governs itself. Disputes are heard within the structures of the sport, under its own rules and on its own timescales, and only rarely reach the ordinary courts. That makes procedural familiarity decisive: knowing what a particular body will accept, what it expects to see, and how quickly it moves.
Dr Richard Sladden currently chairs the Malta Football Association’s Protests Board and has presided over multiple boards and tribunals. Understanding how such a body reasons is a considerable advantage when appearing before one.
Commercial side of sport
Alongside disciplinary and regulatory work we advise on the commercial agreements that fund sport: sponsorship, image rights, broadcasting and merchandising. These are contracts first and sporting instruments second, and they benefit from the same scrutiny as any other commercial arrangement.
Clubs, governance and money
Maltese clubs increasingly face the obligations of ordinary organisations: employment law for staff and players, data protection for member records, procurement where public funding is involved, and governance requirements attached to affiliation and licensing. Many are run substantially by volunteers, and the compliance burden lands heavily on them.
We advise clubs on meeting those obligations proportionately, and on the constitutional and governance documents that determine how decisions are made and how disputes between members are resolved. Getting those right prevents a large share of the disputes that later reach a tribunal.
Common questions
- Do you advise on player contracts?
- Yes, on negotiation and drafting for players and for clubs, including the employment and image-rights aspects.
- Can you represent someone in a disciplinary hearing?
- Yes. We advise and represent in proceedings before sporting bodies as well as in any subsequent challenge.
- Is a sporting dispute heard in the ordinary courts?
- Usually not in the first instance. Most are dealt with within the sport’s own disciplinary and arbitral structures, which is why sector-specific experience matters.