Ice hockey players, coaches, team officials, and IIHF Members National Associations (MNA) appearing before an IIHF Disciplinary body will be able to request free legal support if needed, thanks to an initiative by the IIHF Legal Department to preserve the right to fair and equitable legal representation for all parties involved in IIHF disciplinary procedures. 

Beginning in the 2019/2020 international ice hockey season, any athlete, coach or official belonging to an IIHF MNA – or an IIHF MNA itself – that is involved in an IIHF Disciplinary Board case can apply for free legal support if it is not able to afford it. This support can be for any IIHF disciplinary proceedings, including but not limited to on/off-ice infractions, doping cases, and match-fixing cases. 

“This initiative demonstrates a clear commitment to fairness for athletes and all legal defendants involved in IIHF disciplinary cases,” said IIHF President René Fasel. “Anyone that needs representation in an IIHF disciplinary case but cannot afford it will have access to experienced, professional legal support. I am proud that the IIHF is the first winter sport federation to set this up.”

For defendants that are unable to cover the costs involved, legal support can take the form of pro-bono legal counsel and/or can cover all reasonable costs related to a hearing (such as transport costs to attend the hearing, for example). 

The initiation of the program was due in part to create conditions whereby athletes can feel that their cases are being treated with a high standard of professionalism and fairness. 

“The IIHF Pro Bono Counsel agrees to represent the party for free, within the scope of his mandate, before the Disciplinary Body of the IIHF.” 

“We have decided to move ahead with this program in view of the increasing number of cases where players, coaches, officials and members, due to financial reasons, are unable to secure proper representation in Disciplinary proceedings before the IIHF,” said IIHF Legal Director Ashley Ehlert. “We want to make sure that these individuals feel that their rights are being upheld and that they can have confidence that their legal representation is both professional, impartial, and capable of supporting their case.”

Out of a pool of candidates submitted by various well-known and respected law firms in the world of sport, the IIHF Legal Department created a list containing five experienced sports lawyers which are available to represent those parties who lack financial means to defend themselves properly in IIHF Disciplinary proceedings. These lawyers have volunteered their time and are in no way affiliated with the IIHF or its Member National Associations. They may not ask the party to pay any fees or expenses, nor accept any payment or other types of financial compensation from the party.

Carol Etter

A Swiss based attorney-at-law with profound knowledge of all aspects of national and international sports law. She has represented parties in numerous disciplinary and ethics proceedings before international and national bodies, the Court of Arbitration for Sports and the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

Dino Husak Osmanovic

Specializes in FIFA, UEFA and CAS matters, and in three years of experience in sports law has represented numerous high-profile athletes, clubs, managers, and advised associations, regarding employment, transfer (both national and international), disciplinary, eligibility, and training compensation and solidarity contribution matters. And while regularly providing advice regarding the restructuring and reorganization of sporting clubs and associations, including updating the company’s articles of association/statutes and codes, the implementation of new technologies, and designing tailored commercial programs, he also successfully executes all business aspects of sport.

Matthew D. Kaiser

Matthew D. Kaiser, Esq., of Global Sports Advocates, appears regularly as an advocate before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and other international sports arbitration panels for both athletes and governing bodies.  Kaiser has successfully negotiated reductions in sanction periods for anti-doping rule violations and has prevailed on behalf of athletes and coaches facing discipline for alleged code of conduct violations. Kaiser has also successfully defended sports governing bodies when their authority to take action against member federations and coaches pursuant to their rules and regulations has been challenged.

Susanah Ng

Graduated from Sydney University with a double degree of Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws. She was called to the Malaysian Bar in 2011. Since then, she practised in the area of dispute resolution for 6 years before pursuing her Master in International Sports Law from ISDE. She then joined Kitching Sports as a Senior Consultant. Susanah has appeared as co-counsel before the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne as well as other decision-making bodies of international sports federations. She has experience in various types of disputes: disciplinary, ethics, anti-doping and contractual, as well as setting up the regulatory framework and the production of relevant governance tools for regional sports federations.

Yury Zaytsev

Attorney-at-law based in Moscow, partner and co-founder of SILA International Lawyers; a current member of the Disciplinary Committee of the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia. As a counsel Zaytsev on a regular basis represents athletes, clubs and sports federations before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Zaytsev has successful experience in decreasing of sanctions in disciplinary cases before disciplinary bodies of international sports federations. He was also successful in a number of anti-doping cases at international federations, RUSADA and CAS.