A sports governing body owes a duty to its athletes and fans alike to ensure that the playing-field is level and the outcome is determined solely by the athletes’ natural talents, skill and effort, and not by confounding factors such as use of performance-enhancing drugs or equipment, or insuperable natural advantages in age, sex, or weight.

Jonathan Taylor KC, with his unparalleled experience in the field over the past 28 years, in particular as lead advocate on some of the most prominent and important sports law cases ever fought, provides a detailed insider account of those cases as a means of illustrating the practical, ethical and legal issues confronted by regulators who are seeking to protect what makes sport such a unique and compelling spectacle.

With anecdotes from those he has come across over the years, both inside and outside of the litigation process, Jonathan sets out his cases that deal with match-fixing, doping, male and female competition categories and sports equipment, to illustrate a substantive discussion of the legal challenges involved in regulating sport.

This title is included in Bloomsbury Professional's Sports Law online service.

Jonathan Taylor KC, Partner, Bird & Bird, UK

Jonathan is head of Bird & Bird’s Sports Group in London, advising governing bodies, event organisers and others active in the sector, across all major sports both nationally and internationally, on a range of commercial, regulatory and contentious issues, including commercial disputes, investigations, challenges to regulatory decisions, enforcement of rules in disciplinary proceedings and appeals.

An experienced advocate, Jonathan appears regularly before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, as well as a range of internal sports tribunals. He was appointed Queen's Counsel (now KC) in 2017 in recognition of the quality of his advocacy.