6 minute read
Despina Mavromati
SportLegis Lausanne
Lausanne www.sportlegis.com
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mavromati@sportlegis.com Tel: +412 254 803 52
Biography
Dr. Despina Mavromati is a Swiss and Greek attorney-at-law with extensive experience in international sports law and arbitration, representing clubs, athletes and federations in international arbitration and court proceedings. Despina has acted as counsel, expert or arbitrator in more than 80 recent sports-related disputes in many jurisdictions, involving contractual, governance, dopingrelated and other ethics/disciplinary matters. A former managing counsel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Despina sits on various tribunals of international federations.
What attracted you to a career in sports law?
I was attracted to the diversity of issues included within the definition of “sports law”, which vary from purely contractual to media and doping-related, but also include disciplinary and human rights issues. I also enjoy the international nature of most disputes that I deal with, and the opportunity to interact with clients and colleagues from different jurisdictions and different backgrounds. Last but not least, I appreciate the ever-evolving sports governance ecosystem with its unique rules and structure.
What qualities make for an effective sports lawyer?
Knowledge of the wider sports administration structure and regulatory framework along with sufficient flexibility and readiness to represent athletes or federations in urgent disciplinary, doping or selection matters. Understanding of sports arbitration is also necessary, since most sportsrelated disputes are typically resolved through arbitration. Similarly, the knowledge of Swiss law is also extremely useful due to the fact that most international federations have their seat in Switzerland and there are numerous links to Swiss law in their respective regulations, for instance the FIFA Rules on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP).
How do your roles at various tribunals and sports governing bodies enhance the knowledge and experience you bring to practice?
These roles are definitely complementary to my practice, shaping the way I think and argue about a given case as a practising lawyer. Even though I have a wide experience as an arbitrator sitting on the tribunals of some of the biggest international sports federations, including the UEFA Appeals Body, learning from the different procedures never ceases. My recent experience as the chair of the Ethics and Disciplinary Tribunal of the International Weightlifting Federation gave me the opportunity to come across several important governance issues, ranging from the drafting of disciplinary and ethics rules to effective enforcement of those rules, and the need for independent investigations and adjudication. By deepening my knowledge on governance of sports institutions, I can better understand the specificities of each institution, including those of its judicial arm, and build strategies accordingly.
The EU parliament has proposed a new regime to combat live sport content piracy. What does such a regime need to do to ensure its efficacy?
Illegal broadcasting of live sports events is a real challenge, as technological advances complicate attempts by domestic authorities to identify, control and eventually block it. The recent dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia showed that state relations can escalate, raising security concerns at both the domestic and regional level. At the EU level, regulation and protection of intellectual property rights has traditionally been a contentious topic, bringing to light significant differences and often extreme positions for or against holders of IP rights. Harmonising the relevant rules has proven difficult for decades and continues to divide member states. In my view, a strict approach such as real-time blocking may lead to undesirable consequences and ineffective enforcement. An effective system could be based on facilitating access of consumers to online content through legal channels throughout the European Union. Even so, protection of IP rights at the EU level must be viewed holistically. The imminent completion of the digital single market and the parallel regulatory fervour relating to digital platforms (eg, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act) is a unique opportunity to seek solutions that apply across the board rather than in isolated sectors and cases. The sports world has seen some high-profile issues around mandatory vaccination of athletes. What are the central legal issues surrounding proposed mandatory vaccination schemes?
Mandatory vaccination of athletes raises interesting legal issues that are not unique to sports, including ethical, human rights and data protection issues. Fundamentally, questions of fair play will arise within the sporting context, but it comes down to the autonomy of each association to regulate the conditions surrounding each specific sport with a view to safeguarding the interests and health of all athletes, support staff and spectators.
With the silencing of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai after her allegations of sexual assault, do you think international sporting bodies have robust enough protections for players who suffer abuse? Are there changes to be made in this area?
We should differentiate between the cases that occur within the sport, ie, within the jurisdictional scope of the federation supervising its sport, and those matters that occur outside the federation’s sphere of control. Having said that, it is of ultimate importance to protect the players from all forms of abuse, typically starting through extensive investigations in order to target any specific cases, followed by a thorough review of the regulatory framework to ensure that the rules are not only drafted correctly, but can be effectively enforced. I am an optimist by nature and therefore am confident that multilateral cooperation – also under the umbrella of the IOC – could yield the desirable results for the benefit of athletes and the sport.
What skills are becoming more essential for younger practitioners to one day be in your position?
Two skills would benefit a younger practitioner trying to break into the field of sports law. First, instead of focusing on being a “sports lawyer” from the outset, one should pick an appealing area of law (eg, contracts, intellectual property, arbitration) and apply that specialty to the field of sports. Second, I would recommend building genuine relationships with colleagues and creating a network to obtain visibility in this highly competitive field.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I’ve ever received is a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl but whatever you do keep moving forward.” It is important to adapt to any situation and to keep learning. Sport is a metaphor for life, with struggles, hard work and the combined elements of luck and skill – and I am grateful to have the opportunity to work in this field!
WWL says: Despina Mavromati enjoys a strong reputation as “a very well-known sports lawyer” with significant experience representing clubs and athletes in complex disputes”.
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