Sports Antitrust Professionals

Adam is a competition law barrister at Kings Chambers. He has specialised in competition law for over 25 years, and has a broad practice that covers all aspects of competition law.

He has particular expertise on competition law in the context of sport, and has advised numerous sports governing bodies on a variety of matters, from online ticket sales, broadcasting rights, competition compliance, and abuse of dominance.

Alberto is a competition law Partner at Sérvulo, a leading full-service Portuguese full-service law firm.

He holds an LL.M. in European and Competition Law from University College London (UCL) and a graduate qualification in Competition Law from King’s College London. 

Alexander is a competition law Partner at Gunnercooke LLP. Alongside his practice at Gunnercooke LLP, Alexander co-authored a comprehensive textbook on UK competition law (‘UK Competition Regime: A Practitioner’s Guide’, published by Sweet & Maxwell in September 2021).

He was named a ‘future leader’ in Who’s Who Legal 2021 and was shortlisted as a ‘rising star’ of private practice at the British Legal Awards 2019.

Andrea holds a Masters in competition law from Utrecht University, with her thesis considering the International Skating Union case. She has particular expertise in the competition issues arising in ice skating, tennis and professional football.

Andrea is an associate in the Competition and FDI team at McCann FitzGerald LLP.

Angus is the Deputy Head of Lancaster University Law School, where he specialises in competition law, but he retains a wider interest in regulation, white collar crime, and IP law.

He is one of the Editors of a popular Journal the Competition Law Review, founded in 2004, which is an increasingly important home for competition law scholarship. He is a founding member of the Competition Law Scholars Forum.

Ben is an associate at specialist sports law firm, Morgan Sports, where he leads their dedicated rugby practice.

His work in sports antitrust is primarily related to competition law issues arising in professional rugby union and football.

Buddy is the Regional Director for the Competition Law Group of Consilio, where he advises clients on document handling and data forensics for competition law matters.

David Gallagher is a Partner at specialist competition law firm, Geradin Partners, having previously served as Assistant Legal Director at the Competition and Markets Authority.  

He has extensive experience across the full spectrum of competition law, and has recently been instructed in a number of key sports competition cases.  

Andrea holds a PhD in EU competition law in sport, and has experience in international research projects related to the topic, in particular, on the regulation of football agents and Collective Bargaining Agreements in sport.

Andrea has also acted as legal expert on cases before Court of Arbitration for Sport, in which clubs challenged governing bodies under competition law. 

Baskaran Balasingham holds a PhD, and is an Assistant Professor at Utrecht University.

During his PhD he briefly worked at the UK Competition and Markets Authority. He also completed a traineeship at DG Competition of the European Commission. In Spring 2016, upon being awarded the International Scholar-in-Residence scholarship by the American Bar Association, Baskaran conducted research on US antitrust law at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C.

Ben holds a PhD in International and European Law, and is an Associate Professor of European Competition Law at Leiden Law School. He represented the athletes in the seminal sports antitrust case, the International Skating Union, in the administrative proceedings before the European Commission.

He is editor of the European Competition and Regulatory Law Review (CoRe), editor-in-chief of the Asser International Sports Law book series (Springer), and editorial board member of Voetbal- en Sportjuridische Zaken (Boom Juridisch) and the International Sports Law Journal (Springer).

Bev is currently a barrister (third six pupil) at Kings Chambers. She holds a PhD in competition law and previously served as Head of Unit for Antitrust at a national competition authority.

Her work in sports competition began when London Welsh RFC were denied the chance to take up their place in the Premiership after winning the Championship. Following their successful appeal, she worked as their Compliance Officer.

Dennis Cukurov is a German-qualified lawyer based in Munich, specialising in competition and merger control law with a focus on the sports industry.

He earned a doctorate from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, where he researched sports and competition law, and regularly publishes on the subject.

Magali holds a PhD in Competition Law, and is a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow. She is the Vice-President of the Academic Society for Competition Law.

Her work in sports competition law focuses on video gaming.

Richard holds a PhD in competition law, and is an associate professor in intellectual property law at Trinity College Dublin.

Having previously practiced as a lawyer, and served as a consultant to the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), he was later appointed a Non-Governmental Advisor to the CCPC.

Saskia holds a PhD in EU Competition Law and is a Partner at leading law firm, Bird & Bird.

Having previously served at both the Payment Systems Regulator and the Competition and Markets Authority, Saskia is extremely well-placed to advise clients on every aspect of competition investigations from inception to closure.

Stefano holds a PhD in European law from the University of Bologna, is a Professor of European Union law at the University of Bergamo, Italy, and an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

He is also an attorney and co-founder of law firm, Bastianon-Garavaglia in Busto Arsizio. Stefano is a member of the Steering Committee of the Rivista di Diritto Sportivo (Journal of Sports and Economics Law), where he also holds the position of Scientific Co-Director.

Tom holds a PhD in Competition Law from KU Leuven, a Master’s degree in Law and Economics from Utrecht University, and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School.

His interest in sport and competition law began during his first LL.M. thesis at Utrecht University, which focused on EU competition law and sports associations. A summarized version was published in the European Competition Law Review in 2017.

Eva is a Partner and founder of a boutique competition law firm, SkufcaLaw, in Slovenia, where her practice covers the full spectrum of competition, FDI and State aid work.

She is a highly regarded competition law specialist with almost 20 years experience, and has a unique insight into sports governance, gained from her position as Member of the Integrity Commission of the Slovenian Olympic Committee, and as Executive Board Member of the Slovenian Rowing Federation.

Hamish is an Associate Director at Frontier Economics Dublin Office. He is a specialist competition and regulatory economist.

He regularly advises clients on competition issues including mergers, damages cases, market design and market studies.

Haris is a Senior Associate at leading global law firm, Freshfields, where he specialises in competition and sports disputes.

Jonathan is a competition law Partner at global law firm, Linklaters.

He has particular expertise in advising sports regulatory and teams on the interaction between antitrust in football, motor racing and tennis.

Jordynn is an American litigation attorney whose practice spans commercial, employment, constitutional, and civil rights disputes, with a specialisation in antitrust, sports, and entertainment law.

Her expertise includes American antitrust in sport, on which she advises clients on matters concerning media rights, league structures, and contractual disputes.

Marine holds Masters Degrees in both EU Law and Economics, and Sports Law, and is the Chair of the WISLaw Annual Conference Committee, an association aimed at uniting women working in all areas of sports law. She was a Women in Sports Law Rising Star in 2024.

Marine is an EU antitrust and competition law attorney and qualified sports lawyer based in Brussels, and has represented both athletes and governing bodies before the EU and national courts.

Mark is a doctoral researcher at the University of Westminster, where his research looks at the design of football club ownership and regulation, and the extent to which it aligns with the stakeholder perception of what constitutes 'good' ownership.

He has also contributed to research conducted by Fair Game UK, the new independent regulator.

Mark-E works as an antitrust lawyers in Munich, and founded the Munich Antitrust Law Forum. Hes expertise spans across EU, USA and Swiss antitrust law.

He is a lecturer at the German Sport University in Cologne and a lecturer at the HTW Chur and regularly speaks at national and international sports law conferences.

Miquel is a PhD candidate, whose work considers sports broadcasting and competition law, with a focus on geo-blocking and blackouts.

He has published about different aspects of sports and competition law and participated in International Congresses about the topic.  

Nick is a leading sports law barrister at Blackstone Chambers, where his work ranges from commercial and contractual claims to regulatory and disciplinary disputes. Nick was was named Sports Silk of the Year in 2024.

He writes and lectures regularly on sports law, and is author and editor of ‘Football and the Law’ (Bloomsbury 2018 & 2022) the first comprehensive guide to legal issues in football in the world, co-Author of ‘Challenging Sports Governing Bodies’ (Bloomsbury, 2016), contributor to ‘Lewis & Taylor: Sport and the Law’ (Bloomsbury, 2021) and member of the Editorial Board of Law In Sport and Football Legal and the Advisory Board of the Middle East Sports Law Platform He is a director of the British Association for Sport and the Law (BASL). He also started and presents The Sports Law Podcast in association with Blackstone Chambers.

Phil is an economist and Co-Director of the Competition Law Forum at BIICL, where he has facilitates research on competition law in sport.

He previously served as a Panel Member and Inquiry Chair at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Which? Consumers’ International, and EIU.

Pranvera is a commercial lawyer based in Geneva, whose practice includes Corporate Governance, Antitrust & Competition, and Data Protection.

She has a particular interest in corporate governance, board governance and decision-making processes, and her experience spans various sectors including sports.

Ruben Elkerbout is a Partner at specialist competition law firm, Geradin Partners and is considered one of the leading competition law experts in the Netherlands.  

He has extensive experience across the full spectrum of competition law, and has recently been instructed in a number of key sports competition cases.   

Sam is a Partner at market leading Hungarian law firm, Szecskay. As a dual-qualified attorney in Denmark & Hungary, he is a seasoned EU & competition law practitioner with extensive expertise in advising businesses on all antitrust, State aid, and EU Single Market matters.

Within antitrust, Sam advises on how to navigate the rules on anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance and merger control. He is regularly instructed in economics heavy antitrust matters including pricing abuse cases and in-depth merger investigations.

Sam is a consultant at Keystone, having previously served as a regulatory economist with Ofcom, the UK's media and telecoms regulator.

Stijn Huijts is a Partner at specialist competition law firm, Geradin Partners, having previously served as Legal Director at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

He has extensive experience across the full spectrum of competition law, and has recently been instructed in a number of key sports competition cases.   

Yassin is a lawyer specialising in competition and merger control law, with prior experience in sports law.

His Masters thesis focused on sports law, and he holds a strong personal and professional interest in the sports industry.