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?...
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’....
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...
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...
When the term 'equality of arms’ is used in the same context as mediation, it immediately prompts consideration as to whether mediation was a very useful, if not the ultimate tool in providing an ‘equality of arms’ in a dispute....
One of the main reasons for this is that the benefits of mediation are easy to identify and in essence can be applied to most disputes (whether in the sports industry or elsewhere). However, as I highlighted in the preceding articles, it requires both the parties in any dispute, and...
Just one such area where there seems to be more resistance than usual from some, is the sports industry, where I focus most of my efforts in dispute resolution as a professional mediator. And seemingly little has changed in 10 years, even though the fields of sports law and mediation...
One of the biggest frustrations of almost anyone in the mediation profession is the huge misunderstanding as to what mediation is amongst the broader community, let alone how the process works, the role of a mediator and the benefits of mediation. This misunderstanding is somewhat understandable to the general public;...
FIFA ‘throwing yet another hand-grenade’ into the already fractured and confused agent regulatory landscape, with circular 1873 announcing on 30th December 2023; the temporary suspension of several aspects of the FFAR worldwide - this will no doubt further exacerbate problems and confusion for many in the footballing world not least...
So, in endeavouring to bring mediation to the professional sports world and most notably football (soccer), my own journey has been one littered with huge frustration, bewilderment and annoyance at the seeming resistance of many to contemplate mediation or even understand it....
