Athletes to sue BOA in sponsors row
GB stars incensed by loss of income
LEADING athletes from Team GB are launching legal action against the British Olympic Association over marketing rules they condemn as ‘ridiculous’. Sprinter Adam Gemili is fronting a group of stars, including Mo Farah and Laura Muir, who are taking a stand against the BOA over rules which, they argue, restrict athletes’ earning power through sponsorship. Until this year, no athlete could publicly acknowledge their commercial partners during the Olympics, although the BOA softened that stance last month to allow them to post one tweet of thanks to each personal sponsor during the Games. The athletes want the rules to be relaxed to mirror concessions made to German and American counterparts. Gemili said of the BOA’s stance: ‘We will take a stand and take legal action because it is unjust and unlawful.’ A BOA spokesman said: ‘Our funding model is different to other national Olympic committees.’
LEADING team GB athletes have taken the extraordinary step of launching legal action against the British Olympic Association over what they describe as ‘ ridiculous’ marketing rules.
It can be revealed that sprinter Adam Gemili is fronting a group of stars including Mo Farah and Laura Muir (below) in a landmark challenge against the organisation that will take them to tokyo 2020 eight months from now.
the action centres on the BOA’s interpretation of Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter, which governs an athlete’s ability to engage with their own commercial partners during the Games.
the BOA last month followed the International Olympic Committee’s lead in softening their regulations, which until this year meant no athlete could publicly acknowledge their sponsor during the Games, but their concessions have been dismissed as derisory by numerous athletes.
the most significant change to the BOA regulations is the right of athletes to post one tweet of thanks to each sponsor during the Olympics, minus any Olympic branding, mentions of medals or imagery of GB kit.
the package has drawn a furious response from athletes.
the athletes are pushing for the wider freedoms afforded to counterparts from Germany and the US, whose Olympic committees have revamped their rules this year.
Gemili, who is a BOA Athletes Commission member, told
Sportsmail: ‘It’s with sadness that we are having to now take legal action against the BOA but their lack of willingness to have an open and sensible conversation about Rule 40 has led us to this point.
‘It has got to the situation where we will take a stand because it is unjust and unlawful.
‘We are not asking for anything over and above, we just want the same regulations that our peers have.
‘the German and US Olympic Associations have acknowledged the updated IOC rulings and supported their athletes but the BOA are not doing this. We acknowledge the good work the BOA does and we are not asking for any money, not even for prize money, which most other countries provide. ‘We are only asking for parity and an equal opportunity on our marketing rights. ‘I have had a lot of athletes get in contact. there are a lot of athletes interested in what we are doing. I fully believe all of the British team — summer, winter, Olympic and Paralympic athletes — will be behind this.’ Gemili added: ‘We had conversations with the BOA and were told changes would come. ‘to see what resulted from that, which is basically one “thank you” post and a slight change in submission dates, is very disappointing to say the least.’ Rule 40 was introduced to maximise the visibility of the IOC’s official sponsors and prevent ambush marketing, but it has long been attacked by athletes for blocking them from benefiting fully at the most prominent moment of their careers. the IOC previously ruled ‘ no competitor, coach, trainer or official who participates in the Olympic Games may allow his person, name, picture or sports performances to be used for advertising purposes during the Games’. But that stance was softened earlier this year after a collective action by German athletes and the IOC relaxed the rules allowing national Olympic committees to rule on how the regulation is applied.
the BOA have justified the situation by telling athletes they need to raise in excess of £60m per Olympic cycle — mainly from sponsors — to provide first-class support to team GB at the Games.
But the group led by Gemili is adamant the BOA’s stance is ‘unjust’, pointing to the challenging economic situation of team GB athletes who, in many cases, rely on sponsorship and other jobs to fund Olympic dreams.
UK Sport contribute funding of £21,000-£28,000 a year to select athletes who do not receive payments for medals, unlike the US, for example, where gold medals are understood to warrant a bonus in excess of £27,000.
the British athletes want an agreement in line with that struck by the Germans.
Sportsmail has seen a document outlining eight key points of change, all of which have been granted to German athletes, including: the softening of requirements on sponsors to seek BOA permission for Games-time marketing campaigns; permitting new advertising activities during the Games and allowing the use of social media more freely.
A BOA spokesman said: ‘ the BOA’s funding model is different to many other national Olympic committees, who receive direct government funding.
‘Rule 40 is an IOC rule which we apply in our territory and is the protection that allows us to fund such activities for all athletes, regardless of their sport, status or personal sponsors.’