Marcus, Haynes launch sports arbitration book

The complex world of sports disputes is increasingly being settled outside traditional courtrooms, a shift explored in a new book by sports law specialist J Tyrone Marcus and Dr. Jason Haynes. Their publication, "Sports Arbitral Tribunals and Their Jurisprudence," offers a comprehensive look at how international sporting conflicts are resolved and the growing prominence of arbitration.

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Sports disputes are pretty common. Many of them centre around whether it’s selection for the Olympics and for the World Cup, for instance, why one person was selected and not the other. There are also contractual disputes between employer and employee on the sports field, so conflicts are quite common in sports.

Marcus explained that the book was motivated by the frequent occurrence of disputes in sports, ranging from team selections for major events like the Olympics and World Cup to contractual disagreements between athletes and employers. He highlighted that sports arbitration provides a swifter and more practical alternative to lengthy and expensive litigation, allowing athletes to focus on their game rather than legal battles.

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Sports arbitration seeks to provide an avenue to resolve disputes without having to go through the court system, because generally speaking, the court system is lengthy and it’s expensive. So that’s not friendly for athletes. Athletes want to be on the field of the game, not tied up in court for a lengthy period.

The publication functions as both a practical manual for understanding arbitration procedures and an analysis of the developing field of international sports law. It delves into landmark decisions from leading bodies, including the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which is widely recognized as the highest judicial authority in international sports.

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It deals with sports arbitration, in particular. It’s a guide of what the process looks like. Then we look at decisions from leading bodies all around the world.

Marcus believes that the book's insights are particularly relevant to Trinidad and Tobago, referencing the high-profile 2020 dispute between the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) and FIFA. This case brought the importance of sports arbitration to the forefront for local followers, raising questions about jurisdiction between national high courts and sports-specific tribunals. The book aims to contextualize these local issues within a broader global framework of sports arbitration.

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I think Trinidad and Tobago got familiar with that institution when the TTFA and FIFA went to court in 2020. A key part of that dispute was whether that matter should have been heard in our High Court or whether it should have been heard in that sport-specific court.